LAS VEGAS — Derrick White joined teammates Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta, and Jordan Walsh on the sidelines of the first Celtics summer league game, but took a few minutes to talk to the media about the Boston Celtics hectic offseason, including being surprised by the Jaylen Brown trade.
“I was at my house … my wife told me,” White said. “Obviously, it’s tough to see someone get traded, and JB’s been an amazing teammate, amazing friend to me. He kind of welcomed me when I got traded to Boston. So I’m always thankful for my time that I spent with JB.”
Trading a cornerstone player will obviously make things different for the Celtics, but White doesn’t see it as a drastic change in direction.
“When the ball goes up, whenever our first game is, everybody’s gonna expect us to win and want us to win,” he said. “So we’re gonna have the same mindset and expectations, and we gotta go out there and attack it.”
While a lot has been made about losing Brown, White says getting Paul George does mean something.
“He killed us the whole series, it felt like,” White said. “It’s kind of like a mix of emotions, I guess. But sad to see him go.”
White, who understands as well as anyone what it’s like to be traded, understands that life moves on no matter what in the NBA. For the Celtics to be their best, he gets that he needs to be better to pick up some of the slack.
“I just wanted to attack the summer. I don’t think I played that great last year, so I think that’s kind of what I’ve been focusing on,” he said. “I gotta shoot it better, obviously, but there’s a lot of little things that I want to work on.”
The Celtics will also rely on the addition of Mitchell Robinson, a thorn in Boston’s side and major reason why they were bounced in the second round two seasons ago.
“Mitch has been a pain to go against for us for many years now,” White said. “So it’s going to be great having him on our team and someone that is one of the best rebounders in the league, and obviously a great defender as well.”
Robinson shores up Boston’s big man rotation, giving them consistent, high-level production over 48 minutes with Neemias Queta, as well as a change-of-pace option in Luka Garza. Queta was rewarded with a big extension this summer, something White was excited to see.
“Going in last year, everybody had a lot of questions about what he could do, and I think he proved a lot of people wrong,” White said. “I’m super happy, obviously well-deserved. I texted him congrats, and it’s good to see him out here now. He’s got a couple extra dollars in his pockets.”
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