The Boston Celtics came up one game short of making it to the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons. With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as their All-Star leaders, the Celtics are once again going to be a force in the Eastern Conference and they will finish the 2023-24 season with one of the best records in the league.

After trading Marcus Smart in a three-team deal that landed them Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics' backcourt will now be led by Derrick White, who is entering his second full season with the team. Head coach Joe Mazzulla announced recently that White would be taking over the starting point guard spot for the C's, a move that makes a lot of sense given White's skillset.

Suddenly turning himself into one of the better two-way guards in the league a season ago, White is ready for the challenge that awaits his team ahead of the 2023-24 season. As far as what his future is looking like in Boston, he recently spoke with ESPN's Malik Andrews about his new role and what this means regarding a possible contract extension with the Celtics.

“I love being here in Boston. It would be cool to get an extension,” White said when asked if he would like to get a new deal done before the start of the new season. “We’ll see what happens during that window, but I’ve loved my time in Boston so far and my focus right now is just on the season.”

Entering his seventh season in the NBA, White will be eligible for an extension at the end of September. As Andrews stated, he will have about a three-week window to negotiate a new deal. Set to make $17.6 million this upcoming season, White is under contract in Boston through the 2024-25 season.

White made an immediate impact with the Celtics during their run to the NBA Finals in 2022 when he came over at the trade deadline and in his first full season with the team this past year, he averaged 12.4 points and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range. Playing in all 82 games for Boston, he ended up making the All-Defensive Second Team for the first time in his career.

This is going to be a very important season for the Celtics organization as a whole, especially since they have invested a lot in this team. Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, White and 2022-23 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Malcolm Brogdon, are set to make just under $140 million combined this year and the franchise recently gave Brown a five-year, $304 million contract, the biggest deal in league history.

With Tatum's extension being on the horizon and White nearing the end of his contract, the Celtics are looking to capture their 18th championship in franchise history right now.

“Boston is a title town,” White continued. “That's what they expect, that's what they want from us each and every year. Obviously we've been right there the last couple of years and there are just little things each and every year that we got to do a better job of in the playoffs and it starts from Day 1. We just got to continue to put together the days.

“I like our chances next year.”