As each day of the 2026 NBA offseason passes, we inch closer to the start of the 2026-27 regular season for the Boston Celtics. And as Opening Night draws nearer, the outline of the roster that will take the floor for Game 1 of 82 is starting to come into focus as well.
After Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens traded star forward Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, it became clear that this is a critical season for the team's current contention arc, with the team being remade to maximize the rest of the team's sole superstar, Jayson Tatum. What is the ceiling, floor, and our expectation for each of the players currently under contract with Boston given this sea change in structure for the team?
To such an end, Daniel Donabedian
and Justin Quinn of the Celtics Wire took a player-by-player deep dive into the answers for these questions. So let's dive into our assessment for Derrick White for this edition of our player projections for the campaign soon to arrive.
Derrick White - guard
Ceiling
JQ: There are two basic points of view about the short term future of Derrick White. One is that age has started to rob him of his offensive game, and given the decline we saw on that end of the court, such a perspective is a reasonable one. The other is that the Colorado native simply had an off year as he struggled to fit into a role he has never really been asked to fulfill with Boston – if ever. White's ceiling, then, depends on which of these takes are closer to the truth.
And if it is the latter, the University of Colorado - Boulder alum would hit that ceiling by having less asked of him on both ends of the court now that Paul George will pick up a lot of the slack left by Jaylen Brown's exit on offense, and Mitchell Robinson's addition should help lower the ask on White defensively. More concretely, this would put his efficiency and scoring back to around where they were in Boston's 2023-24 campaign.
DD: At his peak, Derrick White can be one of the best role players in the NBA. He’s reliable, durable, and solid on both ends of the floor. If his 3-point shot can return to form (anywhere from 35 to 40 percent), he’ll be a huge boon for a Celtics’ offense that needs him more than ever.
Regardless of his 3-ball, you can be pretty certain that White’s defense won’t waver. He’s coming off a season in which he was All-Defensive First Team and cemented himself as the league’s top shot-blocking guard. He might not be able to completely account for the scoring absence left by former Celtics star Jaylen Brown, but he can contribute on that side of the ball while giving opposing stars grief on defense.
Floor
JQ: Conversely, the floor for White is another season like 2025-26 with his efficiency from beyond the arc continuing to remain below league average and his shot attempts fading as well as other players on the team fill the gap we'd want to see him fill.
Add in him getting perhaps a step slower on defense with his vaunted stock rate taking a hit, making his overall value drop with a fair amount of cash still owed him on his current deal. And while this age-related decline scenario certainly is possible, I am of the mind that White's struggles last year were more about his role given he is still only 32 at the start of this season.
DD: Although White did have an impressive 2025-26 campaign, his performance in the playoffs was largely disappointing. Perhaps his play in the first round is where his floor lies, as he missed open 3-pointers, looked human on defense, and occasionally lacked confidence with the ball in his hands.
The Celtics can’t have that version of White next season. His defense should still be exceptional despite the aforementioned lapses in the postseason, however, there’s no guarantee that the 32-year-old’s outside shot will ever be as great as it was during the Celtics’ victorious title run in 2024. Simply put, Boston could be in trouble if White fails to play confidently again. Few championship contenders in today’s NBA (with today’s CBA) can afford to roster a struggling starter making over $30 million a year.
Expectation
JQ: As I hinted in the last section, I expect a bounce-back campaign from White with Boston this season, improving his counting stats (a bit) and shooting percentages (a lot) over what he managed in 2025-26.
That said, we might start to see some slippage defensively as that is the area of his game where he is most reliant on athleticism. But if it does happen, he will remain among the best defenders in the NBA regardless, given he's been elite on that end even when the offense has not been up to snuff.
DD: It’s no secret that White had a disappointing finish to the 2025-26 season. I expect him to shake that off during the 2026-27 campaign and get back to the player he is. Now, will he reach the highs he did two seasons ago and surpass every career-best? I don’t think so. Yet, him bumping his 3-point percentage back over 35 percent could be enough for the Green Team.
Even when his shot was off last season, White did everything else on the court — passing, defending, rebounding — mostly well, so I’m never going to doubt his effort. That gives me enough confidence to say that White will be a strong complementary player alongside Celtics star Jayson Tatum once again.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Ceiling, floor, expectations: Derrick White with the Boston Celtics in 2026-27
