Boston Celtics guard Derrick White knows no one on his team’s roster can quite replace what Marcus Smart brought to the team. But White also knows a good amount of what departed could soon fall on his plate.
White is back in his native Parker, Colorado this week hosting his Derrick White Academy summer camp. Many of his 400 campers have been peppering him with questions about the jaw-dropping trade that sent Smart to Memphis with Boston bringing back Kristaps Porzingis.
“The trade has been crazy,” White told NBC Sports Boston. “I’ve got a lot of love and respect and it's been a privilege to play with Smart. I wish him the best of luck in Memphis. But I'm excited to play with KP, too, so I'm looking forward to that.”
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White joined the Celtics two seasons ago, in the middle of Smart’s Defensive Player of the Year season. White landed on the All-Defense team this past year while being the NBA’s best undersized shot blocker. But he knows how much Smart meant to Boston on that side of the ball.
“You can't replace what Marcus Smart does, on both sides of the ball,” said White. "There's only one Marcus Smart and he's special. He was always pushing me and driving me to be better. And he made up for a lot of mistakes that we made last year. It’s going to be a big hole to fill. Everybody’s going to have to step up and try to fill those shoes.”
Much of that will fall back on White. In thinning out the point guard depth chart, the Celtics have created more opportunity for White to continue to spread his wings, this after routinely bringing out the best in Boston’s core players since his arrival.
“We kind of have a lot of guys that handle the ball. But I'll probably have more of the point guard duties than I did last season,” said White. "I’m just looking forward to the opportunity and I know it's going to be a big summer ahead of me and I got to do what I need to do to get ready.”
White is also excited to add Porzingis’ size and skill to Boston’s roster.
"He's super talented. I remember the game in Washington, he was unreal. We couldn't do anything to stop him,” said White. "On both ends of the ball, he can do a lot of things for us. So I'm looking forward to getting to know him better and welcome him to the team.”
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White, who has been an ironman since arriving in Boston, appeared in every game last season and nearly willed Boston to an improbable comeback after his heroics in the final seconds of Game 6 in Miami. He departed Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals after hyperextending his left knee but says he’s fine now.
"I'm good. I'm working out again and feeling good,” said White. "So I'm trying to do what I need to do here this summer so I can stay healthy for as long as I can. And try not to miss any games again.”
For the second straight year, White is losing one of his closest assistant coaches. After Will Hardy departed last season, Ben Sullivan is headed to join Ime Udoka’s staff with the Rockets. The post-shootaround HORSE games could see a major overhaul, especially with Grant Williams set for restricted free agency.
“You’re happy for [coaches] as they advance in their career. That's part of the business,” said White. "I'm so thankful and grateful for all that Ben did for me last season. We had a great time. You see all the stuff they're doing after shootarounds and just having a lot of fun. He helped me in a lot of different ways.”
White has already talked to Boston’s incoming assistant coaches, noting his admiration for what Sam Cassell has accomplished in his basketball career and noted others have spoken highly of Lee (Sullivan and Lee worked together in Milwaukee).
