The idea of the Boston Celtics potentially trading defensive ace Derrick White was extremely far-fetched before the 2025 NBA playoffs. However, Jayson Tatum’s devastating injury, coupled with the defending champion’s second-round loss to the New York Knicks, has opened up a wide range of possibilities.
Among them is the possibility of the Celtics moving White to shed salary and get under the NBA’s brutal luxury tax second-apron. With White potentially available in trades, a Lakers fan on X wondered if the team should trade Austin Reaves to Boston.
In response, another fan proposed a Lakers trade pitch approved by Spotrac.
Lakers would receive: Derrick White
Celtics would receive: Austin Reaves, Maxi Kleber
Another fan noted that White would be a better fit next to LeBron James and Luka Doncic due to his on-ball defense and ability to play off the ball.
Lakers Fans Split On Potential Trade
The proposed White-Reaves trade triggered widespread reactions from both fan bases.
One fan argued that White, 30, would not be an upgrade over Reaves, 26.
“Um no he’s 4 years older and is comparable. There’s barely an upgrade if any here,” he wrote.
Another fan felt that White’s defensive upside alone should be enough for the Lakers to look past the age-difference between him and Reaves.
“Truthfully, yes. Great defensive fit, knock down 3 pt shooter. Would be sad to see AR go, but I like it for the Lakers.” tweeted the fan.
Reaves, A Good Fit For Celtics?
Sports Illustrated’s Ryan Stano analyzed the trade from the Celtics’ perspective, concluding that it could be a gamble worth taking for the 17-time champions.
“From a basketball perspective, it might be a good trade for the Celtics to make. Reaves gives the Celtics more consistent offense and better play-making,” he wrote.
“While Reaves isn’t as good defensively, the rest of the healthy Celtics are good enough to make up for that. It would also give them a chance to keep both Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.”
If the Celtics make White available, teams around the league will reportedly be interested. The Warriors have been earmarked as a team to watch, per The Ringer’s Logan Murdock.
“Another guy that I think you should look at for the Warriors going forward is Derrick White,” Murdock said.
“A guy like that I think, is something that the Warriors are looking at right now because Boston is expected in league circles to have some sort of fire sale or some sort of maybe reset… Just somebody that can play defense and kind of just settle everyone down. Especially when you have a young group like that, you need to settle them down in the non-Steph [Curry] minutes, so that’s something to figure out.”
White averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in the 2024-25 season. Reaves, meanwhile, tallied career-highs across the board, averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game at 46/38/88 shooting splits.
