When Brad Stevens traded for Derrick White at the 2022 trade deadline, it was met by some outside skepticism. The Celtics dealt some seemingly significant capital for the guard, including a first-round pick. But Stevens knew long before the trade that White was exactly what the Celtics needed.

“We’ve thought for years that Derrick was a really good fit with our best players,” Stevens said upon acquiring White in 2022. “He is an excellent defender. He just makes the right play on offense over and over and over. He’s a guy that only cares about winning, that will do all of the little things. …

“He doesn’t need to do anything to be on the highlights to really, really impact winning. … We felt really fortunate to get a guy like that on a long contract that we think is a perfect fit for our best players.”

Sound familiar?

Nearly two years later, White has proven to be exactly the fit Stevens envisioned. He emerged as one of the Celtics’ most dynamic and valuable players last season, and has taken his game to new heights this season, so much so that he’s now even getting legitimate All-Star consideration.

Could Stevens see that ascension coming?

“I don’t think I would have put a ceiling on him,” Stevens said this week. “I thought – and I think we said this when we got him however many years (ago), whenever that was – like, it’s going to be a transition for him. He’s a really conscientious person. He’s never been a high-usage, get-out-my-way, I’m-gonna-make-every-play type of guy or mindset and so there was gonna be a little transition. And one of the reasons we traded for him was he had all those years left on that deal and we knew he was going to fit for then and down the road.

“I just love being around him. Like, I’m really happy for him. I think that, again, we would never have put a ceiling on anybody like that, but it’s fun to see him recognized for how good he is. He’s really good. The way he impacts basketball games is really special.”

White came in eighth among Eastern Conference guards in the first update of All-Star fan voting that was released on Thursday. It’s highly unlikely he will be named a starter, but a reserve role could be on the table even among a stacked group of guards in the East. The All-Star reserves are selected by coaches, but Stevens – a former coach – doesn’t plan on making an extra plea for White, though he did note that he would like to see more reserves on the All-Star teams.

“No one is watching more film than those 14 coaches and the video coordinators they’re sitting in there with making those decisions,” Stevens said. “So I got some emails, I got some phone calls. I always kind of felt like that was like, ‘I know I watched this my whole life.’ …

“I think everybody knows our guys are really good. When I was voting for All-Star, my tiebreaker was winning. So if our team is playing really well throughout the rest of this month, then our tiebreaker may come into play. But I think that ultimately, it’s hard. There’s only what, seven guys that they vote for. Because there’s 12 – is there still 12? What they should do is add to it, take 13 or 14 people instead of 12. But I think we have several guys that are candidates.”

Valuable experience

Before he became the Celtics’ head coach and he was still an assistant, Joe Mazzulla interviewed with Danny Ainge for the Jazz’s head-coaching vacancy. He took a few lessons from that process.

“One, never wear a suit ever again,” Mazzulla said. “I wore a suit and I was most uncomfortable. Really pissed that I did that. Useless.”

There was also one answer he gave to a question that he thought was the difference in not getting the job, which ultimately went to former Celtics assistant Will Hardy.

“They asked me a particular question that I wasn’t quite ready to answer,” Mazzulla said. “It was like, ‘Do you think at a young age, you can run an organization?’ And I knew I could but I didn’t give off the answer that I needed to give to get the job, and so kind of going through that process helped me articulate my strengths and what I think I could do. And it was a good process to have to go through.”

A few months later, after Ime Udoka was suddenly suspended on the eve of training camp, Mazzulla was better prepared when the same question came up with Stevens.

“And I just said, ‘Yes,’” Mazzulla said. “That should have just been more simple. Like, ‘Yes.’ So the same question came about and I said, ‘Yeah.’ But going through that process with Utah is what gave me a little bit of the affirmation and a little bit of the process. Any time you go through an interview and you don’t get it, you’re able to take what went well and what didn’t. And you get more information from that.”

Stepping up

Stevens revealed on Thursday that one need the Celtics may target at next month’s trade deadline would be a “big wing” off the bench. He acknowledged that it could come internally with someone already on the roster, and that he’ll be evaluating that position over the next month. Joe Mazzulla thinks any of them could step up for that role.

“It just depends on the night, the lineup, the situation,” Mazzulla said. “Every guy on the roster has done their job when their name has been called. It’s just a matter of staying ready, but they all have to be ready to fill any type of role that we need.” …

Al Horford sat out Friday’s game against the Jazz – the first of a back-to-back before the Celtics face the Pacers for a two-game series on Saturday and Monday – due to rest.