Romeo is a bust..he had no part here anymore
Romeo was an excellent defender and had developed a pretty solid sideline 3. I included him, not because he was some amazing piece that we gave up, but because he provided some level of depth. We literally went 7 deep on the roster last night - he is a break in case of emergency option, but at least you trust his D and know that he isn't going to jack up bad shots.
JRich was just flat out better than White. If it was just a matter of better ball-movement, then I'm sure he would have been amenable to that. It's not like White is an incredible playmaker, he just makes simple, fast passes. I realize there is more to basketball than just scoring, but we gave up a good defensive player/scorer, another good defensive player, and a 1st rounder for a player who was supposed to better than all of the pieces we gave up. And, honestly, I'm not sure a healthy Romeo couldn't provide what White is giving right now, never mind JRich and the 1st.
It's not like White is an incredible playmaker, he just makes simple, fast passes.
This is a strange take since aside from Chris Paul, the best playmakers in the league are tending to make simple fast passes rather than pounding the air out of the ball. 3 point shooting aside, Derrick White would fit right in on those Warriors teams from a playmaking perspective with these same quick simple passes that means the ball never sticks.
Romeo was an excellent defender and had developed a pretty solid sideline 3. I included him, not because he was some amazing piece that we gave up, but because he provided some level of depth.
Romeo was given all the chance in the world to succeed here and either lacked the drive, talent, or pain tolerance to stay on the court and claim his spot in the rotation. Nesmith may not have shown much since he's got here, but he's shown more than Langford did with less opportunity. Nesmith deserves to be the sole break in case of emergency guy since he's proven to be more likely to be there when he's called.
I miss J Rich, he was a great player while he was here but Derrick White is definitely an Ime guy and the coach has earned the right to have someone in the backcourt who will run the sets like he draws them up every time. Udoka clearly trusts White's instincts and -again 3 point shooting aside- it's going to make for a hard decision this summer when Marcus Smart trade conversations inevitably start up again.
As far as simple, fast passes, I would say that has more to do with willingness than ability. White has been 'successful' because he plays within himself, not because he is a major impact player. That would be fine if he had any semblance of a scoring game, but that hasn't proven to be the case.
I literally said it in my above comment that you referenced, but I don't really care about Romeo, so there is no reason to bring him up. I was only trying to use a slight exaggeration that even he would be as effective as White. He clearly wasn't a major piece for us, but he was available. Even Brad trusted him to start playoff games in a pinch.
And, no, Smart is not getting traded. Smart is 10x the player White is at a similar salary. He literally does everything better than White. White, Theis, Nesmith, and picks could land us a pretty solid player, though.