Derrick White had only suited up once for the San Antonio Spurs this season on Friday, in a loss against the Los Angeles Lakers in which he played for 23 minutes. He was on a minutes restriction. Else, he had been limited by a toe injury that has gotten worse since it’s initial diagnosis.
In August of 2020, White had offseason toe surgery and was dealing with a sprain on that left toe. He missed training camp, the preseason and the first four games of the regular season. On Sunday, he stubbed that toe, aggravating the injury. On Monday, it was learnt that he has suffered a fractured of that toe, and no timeline has been mentioned for his possible return, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
White missed San Antonio’s loss to Utah on Sunday which was the team’s fourth straight defeat following two wins during the opening of the season. Lonnie Walker and Keldon Johnson have both taken substantial steps forward, and the silver lining to White’s injury or that it could mean more playing time for the first-round pick and rookie Devin Vassell.
Before the season, White agreed to a four-year, $73 million contract extension with the Spurs. Now that White has seen recurring issues with that same toe, that long-term security looks invaluable. The Spurs do not need to rush White back to the court as they have so much young talent on the backcourt.
The 20th pick in the 2017 draft out of Colorado, White has been one of San Antonio’s key scorers and distributers since the past two seasons. He averaged a career-high 11.3 points with 3.5 assists last season. In seven games post the restart, he averaged 18.9 points, 5.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 29.8 minutes.
