Are there any Derrick White fans left?

[Roy H.]

If so, what do you see in this kid?

If you need rebounds defense out of your backup PG, I guess he’s okay. Otherwise, he’s got to be one of the worst rotation players in the NBA.

[Who]

Yes. Not a fan of the trade but I am a fan of the player.

He is a solid starting caliber PG. One of the top defensive PGs in the league. A solid ball-handler and able floor general. He can play both guard positions. Not much of a scorer but fine as a 4th or 5th option. He is good going to the basket and good from the midrange. His outside shot is undependable and that is the only major weak-point in his game.

D White is very similar to Smart in terms of being a defensive minded team orientated combo guard who does all the little things that add up to big contributions that lead to winning. Two very similar players.

[Kernewek]

He's had a crap series save Game 4 by what I've seen of it, but he's significantly upgrade from someone like Rozier or Richardson in terms of net play on the floor for the team. It's similar to preferring Shane Battier over Antawn Jamison, if you like.

What's concerning to me (and everyone else) is that his shooting percentages have dipped to 30% on threes since being traded after averaging 34.6% in his last full year with San Antonio. And (as we've all seen) the playoff numbers are even worse. If he can get close to the league average from deep again, there's no complaints from me.

[seancally]

I see a high IQ player who makes the right reads, doesn’t over-pass, makes smart passes and moves the ball, can run the point, can play off Smart or Pritchard, can drive into the teeth and get to the line, and can defend and switch at the level this team switches, block shots get steals and be in the right place at the right time.

[JohnBoy65]

He made the right play every time last night. Are we just going to ignore is 10 1st quarter points? Yeah he missed some shots in the 5-6 foot range. It happens. Honestly, I truly believe he's a net positive to this team. A guy that doesn't need the ball, doesn't need to score, happy setting others up, and plays great defense. Since the inception of the Tatum/Brown era that's the type of player we've been looking for.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

If so, what do you see in this kid?

If you need rebounds defense out of your backup PG, I guess he’s okay. Otherwise, he’s got to be one of the worst rotation players in the NBA.

I think he's underperformed while in Boston. You could make the argument that he outperformed his expectations in San Antonio as a former D-2 athlete.

I think the key thing for me is that I trust Ime, and Ime trusts White.

I try to remain optimistic, and think that he is going to come through in a big moment or two. It just hasn't happened yet. The converse is that we can dump on the dude.

[slamtheking]

he hasn't changed my mind about him as a player or the deal to acquire him:
- felt the trade was an grievous overpay at the time and feel even more so now.  At the time, saw his skill level as about the same as Richardson's but could understand having to include either Romeo or a first rounder for having him under contract 3 more years.  No way he should have cost both, never mind that pick swap. 
- his D has been very good - pleasantly surprised at that.
- his ball handling has been solid for a back up PG.  noticed that if he's under pressure, he has some issues.  noticed it particularly in this series with Miami.  to be fair, none of our PGs are top notch ballhandlers like Rondo or Kyrie and it's a bit of a concern. 
- his shooting/scoring is abysmal.  his supporters get excited if he makes a basket and feel that's all he needs to make.  I look at it as he's replacing the production of Richardson, Schroder and Romeo and he's not even close.  Teams can just leave him wide open and play for the pass and that's what Miami's doing.  He's not making them pay.  He's worse than Smart ever was in that regard.  Supporters clamoring that he's a better shooter historically so he must revert to that are wrong in that regard because players sometime start out better and get worse.  His shot from deep isn't even close to going in.  wide to either side usually which is not good.
- his BBIQ seems solid - makes far fewer mental mistakes than most of the other players on the team.  doesn't turn the ball over trying to be flashy. generally makes the basic, smart play with the ball.  on this team, that's an asset.

As I've said all along, he's not a stiff.  he's definitely a rotation quality player but he's not the godsend many here proclaim him to be.  We overpaid, badly.  I don't want to hear about any expected shooting improvements in the coming years because we have a chance to win the title THIS year and that's when we need him to deliver at least some production on offense.  if we had more shooters/scorers on the team where we didn't need much scoring from him that'd be different but that's not the case this year.

[Smartacus]

I am still a fan although I hope we see significant improvement from him with a full training camp to gel with his teammates next season. At a very basic level what he does on the court (attacking the basket, moving the ball, functioning as a pressure release valve for Tatum/Brown) typically works well but I think that he is capable of more if he and his teammates had greater coordination. It'll be interesting if he can be used in more defined actions next season and of course if his 3 ball can bounce bank to at least >35%.

Overall I think the trade has been a success and I've seen a lot of praise from fans of other teams on national forums. I think most teams could use a Derrick White and there aren't many that have a better player at that spot in their rotation. Although in terms of a potential finals opponent, Golden State has Jordan Poole so he definitely qualifies as an upgrade over D White.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

If so, what do you see in this kid?

If you need rebounds defense out of your backup PG, I guess he’s okay. Otherwise, he’s got to be one of the worst rotation players in the NBA.

poor mans RONDO? he can drive and dish. can play some D. yes his 3 pointers are as bad as RONDO.  I am trying to stay positive here. LOL

[Sophomore]

If his shooting was better he’d be a strong 6th man. It’s really his only significant deficiency.

[Phantom255x]

JFK would still be alive if White took the shot

 

[tonydelk]

He's had a crap series save Game 4 by what I've seen of it, but he's significantly upgrade from someone like Rozier or Richardson in terms of net play on the floor for the team. It's similar to preferring Shane Battier over Antawn Jamison, if you like.

What's concerning to me (and everyone else) is that his shooting percentages have dipped to 30% on threes since being traded after averaging 34.6% in his last full year with San Antonio. And (as we've all seen) the playoff numbers are even worse. If he can get close to the league average from deep again, there's no complaints from me.

And the crazy part is he's getting way more wide open shots with the C's then SAS.  I still love the player but I expected much better shooting.  He's not this bad of a shooter.  I think he will be better next year but we need him to be better now.

[footey]

Weird thread to start after his game last night.  Besides missing open 3s (most of our team was pretty bad last night from 3), he filled the box score and played stellar ball.  Was instrumental getting team off to its dominant first quarter.

[Roy H.]

Weird thread to start after his game last night.  Besides missing open 3s (most of our team was pretty bad last night from 3), he filled the box score and played stellar ball.  Was instrumental getting team off to its dominant first quarter.

https://forum.celticsstrong.com/index.php?topic=94455

Just trying to break the man out of his shooting slump.

[nebist]

It's certainly not ideal that he has the yips from 3 right now, but I am generally a fan of the player and his fit with our roster. Having another good guard defender with size is invaluable to our defense. The fact that he is also a solid ball-handler and passer and can serve as a backup PG means that he brings a different (more valuable IMO) skillset than Richardson (who I did like as well). Langford was a zero. Schroder was a net negative for our team.

Obviously, you can't say he's been great when he is going through an epic shooting slump, but the fact that his on/off and +/- impact still seems pretty solid (I believe, don't have time to fact-check the #s) despite that slump is a very good sign.