I mean if the basis starts with... A player for a much worse player on a shorter contract is "ok" then people aren't really being rational.This is exactly what the detractors are saying. White is ok for Richardson (baka's son aside), Langford makes it worse, the 2022 pick moreso but that largely unprotected 2028 swap is a bridge too far. They would have passed on White because of the 2028 pick swap is just too much. I assume that the Celtics would have preferred more protection and the Spurs wouldn't bite but maybe Stevens is a pushover.
I get that the swap in 2028 scares people, and that's fine, but it's a calculated risk for a better team the next 3 years (maybe more depending whether you keep White, trade etc.)
I also don't like comparisons to things like the Nets, because part of why the Nets swaps did so well was:
1. The Nets were a very old team, so they were both in decline and weren't going to have any trade value down the line
2. The Nets had also traded/swapped every other pick before then so they were low on ways to build their team's future
I don't think CLE is a good comp either, they chose a hard re-set to reload with picks, by trading away players, and.. they had a bunch of time to get bad. At worst the Celtics will be in their 1st year without Tatum, without a reason to re-set they'll likely have a strong supporting cast left over, (plus given how contracts work now, Tatum would be unlikely to opt-out, if he wanted to go somewhere he'd do an opt-in and trade because it makes him tens of millions more.