Celtics to Extend White – It is back to business for the Celtics. The NBA champion Boston Celtics are signing versatile guard Derrick White to a four-year extension worth $125.9 million, ESPN reported Monday. The deal includes a player option, according to the report. What a great birthday present!
White, who will be turning 30-year-old on Tuesday, made the All-Defensive second team for the second year in a row in 2023-24 and filled up the stat sheet, averaging 15.2 points, 5.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals in 73 starts.
He was a marksman from beyond the arc, shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range in the postseason and averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 19 playoff starts, as the Celtics captured their record 18th title over the Dallas Maverick in five games.
White was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, 29th overall, out of Colorado in 2017. He has come so far. He had to use his first game check to pay back his student loan. He was traded to Boston in February 2022 at the trade deadline, also sending a first-round pick and a future first-round swap to the San Antonio Spurs to land the two-way guard. White went on to help the Celtics reach the 2022 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
He has posted career averages of 12.3 points, 4.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 418 games (302 starts) with the Spurs and Celtics.
By choosing to lock up White, the Celtics have taken care of all of their core players on long-term contracts as they try to keep the league’s defending champions together for the foreseeable future.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlso…
Celtics up for Sale Two Weeks After Finals Win – Now it is time for the business side of sports. Boston Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck is looking into a sale of his stake in the 2024 NBA champions, the organization announced Monday.
“Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C., the ownership group of the Boston Celtics, announced today its intention to sell all the shares of the team. The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations.
“The managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028, and expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028.”
The franchise, which Forbes valued at $4.7 billion in 2023, was purchased by an investment group spearheaded by Grousbeck in 2002 for $360 million. The Celtics have won two championships, in 2008 and 2024 and reached the NBA Finals four times under their current ownership.
Last month, the Celtics won their 18th NBA title in franchise history, surpassing their arch rival, the Los Angeles Lakers. They beat the Dallas Mavericks in a gentlemen’s sweep. After going 64-18 during the regular season to ensure the top seed in the playoffs, the team beat the undermanned Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers to reach the NBA Finals.
“It feels like we’ve got more to do,” Grousbeck said following the Celtics’ championship parade last Friday. “I mean, I’ve got to go design a ring with the guys, and we’ve got to raise the banner in October. There’s more to do. But we’re going to build the team for next year. We’re going to enjoy this for now, though. … We’re fans who bought this team. We’re all in this together. Let’s go get another one.”
