The Celtics acquired the versatile guard from the San Antonio Spurs in 2021-22.
With the San Antonio Spurs currently playing in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, it's a good time to revisit some of the ties between those two teams and the Boston Celtics.
We already looked at Luke Kornet's impact on the Spurs and how the Celtics may have missed him earlier this week, but now we take a look at another crossover between Boston and San Antonio: The Derrick White trade from 2021-22.
The trade itself
Back on Feb. 10, 2022, the Celtics acquired White for guard Romeo Langford, Josh Richardson, and a 2022 1st-round pick, which eventually became Blake Wesley. The Spurs also got a conditional right to swap first-round picks with the Celtics in 2028.
About what Boston gave up
The Celtics drafted Langford with the No. 14 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Indiana.
He played 32 games a rookie for the Celtics (2019-20), averaging 2.5 points per game. He appeared in 18 games in 2020-21, averaging 3.1. He played 44 games for the Celtics before the trade in 2021-22, and then appeared in just 47 games for the Spurs over the next two seasons. He hasn't appeared in the NBA since 2022-23.
Richardson, now 32, is a 10-year veteran of the Miami Heat, Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans.
He spent only that one season with Boston, averaging 9.7 ppg in 44 games. He averaged 11.4 after the trade for San Antonio. For his career, he's a 11.5 ppg scorer. He did not appear in an NBA game this past season.
Wesley was taken with the No. 25 pick in 2022 out of Notre Dame. He spent three years in San Antonio and spent this last year with the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 4.8 ppg in 31 games.
Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) passes the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first half of a game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Brian Fluharty-Imagn ImagesAs for White
Simply put, he's been one of the most impactful additions that Brad Stevens has made in his role as president of basketball operations.
He averaged 11.0 ppg after the trade in 2021-22, also helping the C's get to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Golden State.
Overall, he's a 14.7 ppg scorer for the Celtics, helping them win the championship in 2023-24. He won the league's Sportsmanship Award this season and was named to the NBA's First-Team All-Defense. He also finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
He's a nine-year veteran of the Spurs and Celtics.
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