It was well-known that the Celtics were likely to dip below the dreaded second apron ahead of next season. With Jayson Tatum slated to be sidelined with an Achilles rupture for most, if not all, of next season, the team is unlikely to contend next season (although crazier things have happened).
As such, late Monday night, they traded Jrue Holiday in exchange for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks,
Then, on Tuesday evening, the Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks in exchange for Georges Niang. As such, they were creatively able to save $22 million in one trade (shoutout to the Brooklyn Nets for getting involved).
After those first two cost-saving moves, the noise around potentially parting ways with Jaylen Brown and Derrick White intensified.
“Teams are throwing crazy offers at Jaylen Brown and Derrick White,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last week.
Shams says ‘them phone lines are ringing in Boston’:
“The Celtics are getting offers, calls on both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. Their preference has been to keep both players. They are listening, but will a team get there?”
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)pic.twitter.com/tIJIAcqjQ3
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 25, 2025
And then, on Tuesday, he doubled down on the league-wide interest: “The Celtics are getting offers, calls on both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. Their preference has been to keep both players. They are listening, but will a team get there?”
At least as of late Wednesday night, it seems both players have survived potential offseason moves. There’s a long offseason ahead — and plenty more offseasons in the future — but at least for now, Brown and White remain Celtics.
To some, the lack of a big draft-day move may be a disappointment; a crazy haul would have allowed the Celtics to reset for the future and begin a new era of basketball. After two big trades in less than 24 hours, it appears that the Celtics
But, by holding onto Brown and White, the Celtics hold onto two of the most critical players from the 2024 championship team.
Beyond just their on-court production, Brown and White have epitomized what it means to be Celtics off the floor, too.
Brown has probably been more engaged in the Boston community than any other player on the roster — visiting schools in Dorchester and Roxbury, giving away shoes, investing in businesses in underrepresented communities, and hosting educational youth camps at MIT. White has been a fixture of the Special Olympics program and the Curbside Care program, which delivers essential postpartum care directly to families.
No, you shouldn’t trade players just because they’re good guys and do good things in the community. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to have guys on the roster who make a concerted effort to connect with the city of Boston.
Above that, Brown and White are proven winners, versatile players who can get it done on both ends. There is no 2024 championship without them.
For all his faults, Jaylen Brown is someone who has averaged 22+ points per game in each of his past five seasons. He’s a much-improved playmaker, and, when healthy, has proven to be one of the league’s elite defenders. He’s stepped up in the biggest moments, producing clutch play after clutch play throughout the Celtics’ title run. And, so long as he and Tatum have been on the roster, the Celtics have been elite.
Then, there’s Derrick White. You couldn’t design a more perfect Celtic in a lab if you tried. White seemingly gets better every year and is fresh off the best season of his career. White is one of the top shot-blocking guards in NBA history, and he’s also one of the roster’s most consistent three-pointers, making more threes last season than any Celtic in franchise history. White’s unequivocally one of the most beloved people in the organization. His teams gush about him at every given opportunity. He’s a culture guy, through and through.
Next year will undoubtedly be a challenging year for the Celtics. With Jayson Tatum likely to be sidelined most, if not all, of next season, the Celtics will undoubtedly take a step back. The departure of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday makes next year even more daunting.
When Tatum returns in 2026, the Celtics will want to field as competitive a roster as team. It’s way too soon to know exactly who that roster will be comprised of, but a roster headlined by the trio of White, Brown, and Tatum — if healthy — should instantly be in the mix to compete.
The 2024 championship core was broken up, as was inevitable. But with Brown, White, and Tatum all still in their athletic prime, it’s too early to determine that it needs to be entirely dismantled. For one more day, that potential core survives.
