Latest rumors pave the way for beloved Spurs star to head back to San Antonio

The brotherhood of former San Antonio Spurs players around the league is strong. Could the financial pressures of the new NBA bring one of their own back to the Spurs? Could Derrick White come home to San Antonio?

The Boston Celtics made one of the best championship-building trades in recent memory in February of 2022, trading for San Antonio guard Derrick White. The trade made sense for the Spurs, who were in the midst of a teardown that ultimately put them in position to draft players like Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and (in a matter of days) Dylan Harper.

Yet for the Celtics, it was a beautiful addition of a player who perfectly fit their vision for a title contending team: an elite defender and improving shooter. White blossomed even more with the Celtics, becoming one of the best high-volume shooters in the entire NBA and having a number of signiature moments, from playoff game-winning tip-ins to 3-point barrages that buried oppoents and literally set records.

Now, however, the Celtics find themselves in a difficult situation. They are punitively expensive, having run it back with their entire championship team from 2024, and are facing severe penalties if they do not reduce their salary by a significant amount. They may be willing to pay those penalties if they won another title or were close to doing so, but instead they were knocked out in the second round and lost franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles that will keep him out for most, if not all, of next season.

The Celtics are likely considering all options at this point, and one option is the nuclear one. They obviously love Derrick White, but his value is at an all-time high, and while he is still a high-impact player he is also turning 31 years old on July 2nd. If the Celtics are not contending until 2026-27, selling high on White and using the return to pivot into another star player in two seasons may make more sense for their timeline.

What teams would be interested in Derrick White? Probably all 29 other teams in the league. He can play both guard position, is an elite shooter and a phenomenal defender both on the perimeter and in the paint. When you start adding the layer of which teams are ready to compete right now, and who has the assets to make a run at White, the list gets much shorter.

The Spurs could trade for Derrick White

The San Antonio Spurs are in position to take a major step forward. Victor Wembanyama is that good, a Top-10 player in the league with a modern game that the organization can build a great team around. They have already taken some steps to accelerate their rebuild, including trading for De'Aaron Fox; could a trade for Derrick White be next?

On the one hand, the Spurs already have significant resources invested into their backcourt. They paid a pretty penny for Fox, they took 2-guard Stephon Castle with the No. 4 pick last season, and they plan to draft point guard Dylan Harper in next week's NBA Draft.

On the other hand, none of those three players are proven shooters, let alone true weapons. The Spurs should be looking to prioritize shooting around Wembanyama to open up the paint for him; while he is willing and able to shoot from the perimeter, his game could truly be unlocked with a spaced-out floor.

White would therefore look like the perfect fit alongside either Fox or Harper, a sharpshooting secondary ball-handler with elite defensive chops. He is not so old he canot help the Spurs for years to come, and he is already familiar with the organization and beloved from top to bottom.

The cost is obviously a factor to consider; the Celtics likely prefer draft capital in return that they can flip, but it's possible someone like Castle needs to be in that trade both for roster balance on the Spurs and to make the Celtics come to the table for a trade. Is that too steep a price for the Spurs? How much are they convinced Castle can add a reliable jumper, and are they comfortable waiting when Wembanyama is ready to win right now?

White makes $28.1 million next season in the first year of a four-year bargain contract he is on, making it much simpler for the Spurs to match his salary than for someone like Kevin Durant. Gregg Popovich should be kicking the tires on bringing back the player he accurately reached for late in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Could Derrick White be heading back to The Alamo? Absolutely. Should he? That's a more complicated question, but it's one worth asking.