Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens lauds Derrick White, Daniel Theis after busy deadline day

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens says the acquisition of guard Derrick White from the San Antonio Spurs was a case of being presented with an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

«We've thought for years that Derrick was a really good fit with our best players,» Stevens said during a video conference call Friday morning. «He is an excellent defender. He just makes the right play on offense over and over and over. He's a guy that only cares about winning, that will do all of the little things, as you can see in some of his stats, defensively, with regard to willingness to put his body on the line, activity, shot challenges, all of those things. And on offense, just by making simple plays and doesn't need to do anything to be on the highlights to really, really impact winning.

»We felt really fortunate to be able to get a guy like that on a long contract that we think is, again, you know, a perfect fit for our best players."

White, who is signed through 2025, has familiarity with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, having played with them on Team USA in the 2019 World Cup. He also spent time with Ime Udoka when the Celtics coach was a Spurs assistant earlier in White's career.

A guard with two-way ability, White is averaging 14.4 points and 5.6 assists per game — though, in keeping with a seasonlong trend for the Celtics, he is shooting 31.4% from 3-point range, a few points below his career average. Still, he and Smart should form an elite partnership in the backcourt defensively for Boston, and White provides another passer on a team that was in short supply of those before the trade deadline.

That said, the cost to get White — both for his play and his contract, which averages