On the day of the 2022 NBA trade deadline the Boston Celtics made a move to add guard Derrick White to their roster. White is a dynamic two-way guard who is signed through the 2024-25 season. To get White, Boston parted with Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a top-four protected 2022 first-round pick.

But here’s what they also sent to San Antonio:

And this is what scares me.

Now, you can easily argue that 2028 is SIX years away. In that same year we’ll be getting ready for a presidential election and my daughter will become a teenager. Both seem like more major real-life events for me to be worried about.

Those are 2028 Terry’s concerns though. I’m 2022 Terry, and I’m pissed.

This deal makes the 2021-22 Celtics better. It also might make them better in the next few seasons with White on the team. Or they could use White as an asset to finally pair Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with the third star the franchise covets.

There is no guarantee that White is a good fit for the team, nor that other teams will view him as a desirable trade asset this summer or moving forward. And while I understand you need to give something to get something, did you need to give so much?

A first-round pick that would be 18^th if the season ended today, along with a serviceable wing player and so-far failed lottery pick who still might have potential seems like a fair package for White. Adding a lottery ticket pick swap seems like an unnecessary second cherry on San Antonio’s sundae.

The scariest part of this is how the NBA currently works in terms of player movement. Star players leave via free agency or ask for trades more frequently than ever. We even saw two stars who had asked out of pretty good situations get traded for each other at the deadline!

Damien Lillard and Bradley Beal are the 4^th and 5^th longest tenured NBA player with one team with nine seasons. Both have been involved in trade rumors for the last year and seem destined to suit up for new teams at the start of next season.

My point being while I’d love Tatum & Brown to retire as Celtics, it’s just not likely. And though each (or both) could be traded for high level talent, it’s more likely they’ll be traded for picks and young talent. Which would signal a rebuild.

You know what teams who are in a rebuild really need? THEIR OWN FIRST ROUND PICKS!

A Tatum/Brown departure is the big fear for Celtics fans, but the thought was always that if the team did lose one or both then we’d just go to the lottery and hope to rebuild through the draft. That’s difficult to do if another team can swap picks with you.

The pessimistic view for Celtics fans is now that the Jays don’t work as a combo and there’s a need to blow things up. And if this comes to fruition and the team is at the bottom of the standings, they might lose their chance to pick the next Tatum or Brown because San Antonio gets to swap picks with them.

Kind of like the pick swap with the Nets that allowed Boston to select Tatum in the first place.

Look, I get it. This is all far away in the future and a million and one things can happen before we will even get an idea if San Antonio would want this swap. But the fact is adding this pick swap to the deal has opened the door to the doomsday scenario for the franchise being even worse than just losing the Jays.