Derrick White has found massive success with the Boston Celtics, although when Gregg Popovich told him that the San Antonio Spurs were trading him, he wasn’t thrilled about the possibilities.
Before the 2022 NBA trade deadline, the San Antonio Spurs committed to a rebuild. They traded Derrick White to the Boston Celtics for Romeo Langford, Josh Richardson, a first-round pick, and a pick swap.
At the time, White was a quality two-way guard, although there were concerns that he was simply a good player on a bad team. After joining the Celtics, he continued to blossom, becoming one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire league.
More than three years after the trade, White has a Finals ring and Olympic gold medal, and the Spurs successfully tanked their way into drafting Victor Wembanyama, so the deal clearly worked out for both sides, although White had mixed feelings when the deal was first made.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesDerrick White reflects on being traded to the Boston Celtics
The Spurs selected White 29th overall in the 2017 draft and immediately started investing in him, allowing him to blossom in the G League as he prepared for NBA reps. He, like so many other players, quickly developed a rapport with head coach Gregg Popovich, which made being traded rather difficult.
“Pop walks into the room, and he’s like, ‘Uh, we traded you.’ And I’m like, ‘Shut up, Pop,’” White reflected during a recent episode of his podcast. “Pop calls me, ‘What room are you in?’ It’s the trade deadline, so I’m like, ‘Oh, where am I going?’ He knocks on the door, sits down in my room, and goes, ‘Hey, uh, we traded you.’”
White, of course, admitted that he felt betrayed by the trade, and took it as a rejection, although Popovich was quick to tell him that, if anything, it would only improve his NBA career.
“He goes, ‘We wouldn’t f— you. We sent you to Boston,’” White said. “I just played that summer with JT, JB, and Smart. So I knew a bunch of people there. He’s like, ‘You’re going to be comfortable. They’ll kind of bring you along.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, yeah, that’s cool.’ I thought I’d fit well there.”
In the 2019 FIBA Cup, Team USA, coached by Popovich, was headlined by Celtics Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart, so White had already played in a similar system to the one Brad Stevens had implemented in Bean Town.
White broke out as an All-Defensive player and has quickly become a fan-favorite around the league for his team-first playstyle.
Gregg Popovich built relationship with players
At the time White was traded, he and Dejounte Murray were seen as the future of the Spurs, so Pop likely thought he owed it to his star to give an explanation.
However, even with non-star players, he would take the time to have difficult talks, which is not something every coach or executive is willing to do.
Keith Langford only ever played in two NBA games, and was cut from multiple American and European teams, although his run-in with Popovich, who cut him twice in 2007, left a mark.
“I did have several experiences with several teams,” he told The Athletic. “And he was the only one that made me feel like I was a part of something where I was being paid attention to.”
Popovich built his dynasty in San Antonio on core tenets like trust, loyalty, and discipline, but it stood out to players how he treated fringe roster guys the exact same as he treated Tim Duncan.
“I think you have to have accountability,” Popovich told the FIBA staff in 2016. For us, the thing that works best is total, brutal, between-the-eyes honesty. I never try to trick a player or manipulate them, tell them something that I’m going to have to change next week.”
Former Spurs like White, Steve Kerr, Ime Udoka, Kyle Anderson, and DeMar DeRozan can all credit Popovich for their careers continuing to blossom after pit stops in San Antonio, and Popovich, as the central figure, can be thanked for that.