As his mind started to race, Derrick White couldn’t think. Gregg Popovich had just walked into his hotel room in Atlanta, on the morning of Feb. 10, to deliver surprising news: the Spurs were trading White to the Celtics.
He heard Pop’s words but couldn’t process them. We think you're going to be great out there. Keep going. They spoke for an emotional five minutes. Or maybe it was 10. White can’t remember. He thanked the only NBA coach he’d ever had for imparting crucial life lessons and reams of basketball knowledge.
When Pop left, White called his pregnant wife and told her about the cross-country move they were about to embark on. She peppered him with questions he couldn’t answer. But when he took a call from Brad Stevens, who told White how eager Boston was to have him, his feelings started to shift.
