Boston Celtics
Minnesota reportedly wants White, who is coming off the worst shooting slump of his career, but remains an elite defender.
Derrick White. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
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Jaylen Brown has frequently been brought up in Celtics trade rumors recently, but there’s another Boston guard whom opposing teams have reportedly been eyeing.
“League sources say the Minnesota Timberwolves — whose pursuit of Antetokounmpo also appears to have cooled — have strong interest in the Celtics’ Derrick White,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote in the notes section of his report about the latest on the Antetokounmpo trade talks.
White will turn 32 next month, but his defense has remained at an elite level. He earned a spot on the NBA All-Defensive first team this past season, marking the first time in his career that he has earned such recognition. He had previously been named to the second team twice.
He is one of the league’s best shot-blockers at the point guard position. The 6-foot-4-inch White tied seven-foot center Neemias Queta for the team lead in blocks at 1.3 per game. White upped that average to 1.4 per game during the Celtics’ playoff series against Philadelphia.
But, it’s not just the shot-blocking ability that sets White apart. He is an all-around gritty defender who is known for making every possible effort to get stops on the defensive end. He averaged 1.1 steals per game.
White’s defensive abilities, along with his playmaking skills, helped earn him a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in 2024. He has also been able to stay on the floor consistently – playing in at least 73 games in each of the past five seasons.
However, during this past season, White endured a lengthy shooting slump that was quite unlike him. This was the first season of his nine-year career that White shot less than 40 percent from the field. His 3-point percentage plummeted from 38.4 in 2025 to 32.7 in 2026.
With Jayson Tatum out for most of the year and the Celtics losing several capable scorers including Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford, White had to take on a bigger role for the Celtics this year. He hit career-highs in minutes per game (34) and field-goals per game (14.4).
White spent most of the year as the Celtics’ No. 3 scoring option. Brown and Payton Pritchard both averaged more points and field-goal attempts per game in the regular season. Tatum was second on the team in field-goal attempts during his 16-game regular-season campaign after recovering from offseason Achilles’ surgery.
Minnesota lost to eventual runner-up San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals. They had lost in the Western Conference Finals the previous two seasons.
The T-Wolves have a bona fide star in Anthony Edwards who is unlikely to be available for trade. The Celtics could use additional front-court pieces, but would bringing in Rudy Gobert (who tuns 34 next week) move the needle? Jaden McDaniels is a 6-foot-9 athletic forward who shot 41.2 percent from 3-point range last season, but it’s unclear if White would be enough to pry him away.
Naz Reid, Ayo Dosunmu, and Julius Randle helped Minnesota stay competitive, but White’s talent and fit make it difficult to envision the Celtics accepting a trade package around them.
The Celtics have White under contract for the next two seasons before a player option kicks in for 2029. White would be 35 by the end of his current deal with Boston.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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