Report: Celtics Eyeing DJ White For Big Man Depth
BOSTON (CBS) - While the Boston Celtics got some guard help at Thursday's NBA trade deadline, their deal with the Washington Wizards for Jordan Crawford left them short one big man.
Though Jason Collins didn't play all that much, averaging just 10.3 minutes per game, those 10.3 minutes were important in that they gave Kevin Garnett a chance to rest.
"We can't get into foul trouble," head coach Doc Rivers joked following the deadline.
The Celtics have Chris Wilcox and Fab Melo to fill that void, but Danny Ainge will be scouring the scrap heap over the next week -- whether it be the NBADL or leagues across the seas whose seasons have already ended -- to bulk up his team's depth down low.
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Celtics have their sights set on former Thunder and Bobcats center D.J. White, who like the recently-signed Terrance Williams, just wrapped up his season in China.
White enjoyed a four-year NBA career before heading overseas, averaging 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds over 124 NBA. Originally drafted 29th overall in 2008 by the Detroit Pistons, White put up his best numbers for the Bobcats in the 2010-11 season when he averaged 8.5 points on 53-percent shooting to go with 4.4 rebounds.
For the Shanghai Sharks, White averaged 21.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in 32 games.
Should the Celtics not be able to ink White to a 10-day contract, they'll likely have a few bigs hit the waiver wire as teams reach buyouts following the trade deadline.
None of the names will be franchise -altering, but all they need to do is pull down some rebounds and, more importantly, give Garnett a bit of a breather.
