4 for 1! When the Spurs Celtics traded, who won and who lost?

This is probably the case. Recently, Celtics defender Derek White was a guest on a show and recalled the scene when he was traded to the Celtics by the Spurs three years ago.

White first said, "It's really crazy to be traded. At that time, we were in Atlanta, and Popovich walked into my room and said to me, hey, we traded you, and then he stopped talking. I asked where to go, and he said, don't worry, we won't cheat you, we sent you to Boston."

White continued, "This is one of the craziest things I have ever experienced in my career. You play for a team and you are wholeheartedly with them. One day, they suddenly said to you, "Okay, you're going to the Celtics. I was really hurt at the time, and I was thinking, why don't they want me? Why don't they have me in the future?"

At this point, you might as well recall the deal that year.

Before the 2022 trading deadline, the Spurs and the Celtics reached a deal, which is specific:

- The Celtics get Derek White

- The Spurs get Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, the first round pick in 2022, the first round swap rights in 2028

For the Celtics, this deal has a far-reaching impact. After joining

White helped the Celtics reach the finals in the first season, and then reached the Eastern Conference Finals in the second season, and also made a buzzer-beating finals in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the third season, he helped the Celtics win the 18th championship in the team history.

Last season, although the Celtics did not win the championship, White's performance:

--Regional season, averaging 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.1 blocks per game, 44.2%/38.4%/83.9% from three events, 60.6% from the real shot, 60.6% from the Celtics, averaging 18.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 blocks per game, 46.3%/38.5%/86.1% from three events, and 63.6% from the real shot, I don't think there is much introduction. In the past three years, he may be the third best star in the Celtics, and sometimes his performance is even better than Brown.

And the point is that White's contract is very cost-effective. After winning the championship in 2024, he signed a four-year, 118 million contract with the Celtics, with an average annual salary of less than 30 million.

Combining ability and contract, White's current value is definitely among the best in the Celtics. The fact is also true. It was previously reported that many teams inquired about White this summer, and some quotations included 1 swap + 2 first round (the Raptors prepared this year's No. 9 pick for White), but they were all rejected by Stevens.

Look at the Spurs again, what's going on with that deal back then? One of the important chips the Spurs got was Josh Richardson, who performed after the trade: Average of 11.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, shooting percentage of 42.9%, and 3-point shooting percentage of 44.4%.

's performance was not bad, but the Spurs were in the stage of complete reconstruction at that time, so in the middle of the 2022-23 season, the Spurs took action again and sent it to the Pelicans, getting Devent Graham and 4 second round picks.

It should be noted that Graham has no ball to play after his Spurs career ended in the 23-24 season, while Josh Richardson became a free agent this summer and no one has signed a contract so far. The other bargaining chip obtained by the Spurs is Langford, who was the 14th pick in the first round of the 2019 class, but his performance was not outstanding and he was not saved after joining the Spurs.

His performance in the 2022-23 season: averaged 6.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, shooting percentage of 46.7%, and three-point shooting percentage of 26.2%. After the season ended, the Spurs gave it up.

In addition, the Spurs also got a first round +1 swap. The 1 swap has not been fulfilled yet. In 2022, he selected Blake Wesley (25th pick). The latter played for the Spurs for three years and averaged 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his career.

This summer, the Spurs sent Wesley, Blanham, and one second round, and got the Wizards Olynick. Wesley was later cut by the Wizards and then joined the Trail Blazers.

In summary, looking back on this deal, the Spurs can be said to be a loss, but there are still two points to note here:

1. White's performance before the trade was not as good as it is now. At that time, his data: averaged 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists per game, shooting percentage of 42.6%, and three-point shooting percentage of 31.4%. He didn't play well in his first season when he joined the Celtics. It was only the beginning of the 2022-23 season that he suddenly broke out

2. The Spurs were determined to rebuild at that time. White's existence was somewhat "delayed" the team. He sent White to the championship team, but he completely defeated himself. In the end, the Spurs selected Sohan in 2022, the Chinese class in 2023, Castle in 2024, and Harper in 2025. The reconstruction basically completed any transaction

, and any transaction

. There is always some truth at the moment of the transaction being concluded. It is inevitable that they will be said to be hindsight, but it is determined whether this transaction is a good deal, not the cause, but the result. As for this deal, the Spurs are indeed losing money. Stevens, being a coach has something to do, and being a general manager has something to do.