Spurs guard Derrick White was shocked by San Antonio's decision to trade him to the Celtics this week, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News writes. By trading White, San Antonio acquired Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick (top-four protected), and the conditional right to swap first-round picks with Boston in 2028.
“The whole coaching staff, training staff, front office – I had a lot of love for everybody, all my teammates and everything,” he said. “So, I can’t really put into words how much I love all of them. It was hard for me, but I knew once I got here, it’s a new chapter and I am ready to get after it.”
White will add backcourt depth to a Celtics team that traded Dennis Schroder on Thursday. He made his debut on Friday against Denver, recording 15 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Pelicans center Willy Hernangomez has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link). Hernangomez is expected to be available for New Orleans' game against San Antonio on Saturday. He originally entered protocols on Feb. 3.
- The Pelicans and Blazers didn’t require any physicals in the trade that featured star guard CJ McCollum, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets. ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted on The Lowe Post that New Orleans waived McCollum’s physical (hat tip RealGM), so it’s still unclear if the other physicals were waived. As Marks notes, it’s unusual for a team to waive a physical when the player has a significant contract. McCollum will make $30.9 million this season, $33.3 million in 2022-23 and $35.8 million in 2023-24. He missed time due to a collapsed lung in December.
- The Spurs are entering a new phase of their rebuild, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. In addition to trading White, San Antonio also made multiple other moves on Thursday, including sending veteran forward Thaddeus Young to Toronto. San Antonio currently ranks 12th in the West at 21-35.
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