Celtics’ D.J. White signing waiting on Chinese paperwork

The Boston Celtics could use an extra body, but they won’t be able to add center D.J. White for a few days as the team waits for paperwork from his Chinese team in Shanghai.

by Rodger Sherman

Feb 26, 2013, 1:10 PM UTC

Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

The Boston Celtics will sign D.J. White, but it might not be for a few days as they await paperwork from the Chinese team he had been playing for -- and as they strategically wait as long as they can to sign the center to a 10-day contract.

White had been with Shanghai, Yao Ming’s team in China, and has been linked to the Celtics since last week, but his name wasn’t on the roster before last night’s game against Utah. White’s name won’t be there for a few more days, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports. Danny Ainge said the team likely wouldn’t make a move before Wednesday or Thursday, as the team doesn’t play another game until Friday night.

The Celtics have been strapped for depth, as they played their fifth game in seven nights Monday night and saw it go into overtime, surely not what a team with aging bodies in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett wanted. Rajon Rondo is out for the year with an ACL tear, rookie big man Jared Sullinger is out for the year with back injuries, and Leandro Barbosa had been out for the year, also with an ACL tear, before the team traded Barbosa and healthy big Jason Collins for Jordan Crawford.

They have since brought in Terrance Williams on a 10-day contract, with the swingman earning praise for his ability to play point guard, a position where the Celtics lost two of their top three options. But his contract expires Wednesday, and Ainge would not say whether the team would bring him back. He has played in three games for Boston, but was a DNP-CD Monday night, as was rookie center Fab Melo. Melo has dealt with injuries and Ainge says the Brazilian hasn’t adjusted to playing defense in the NBA after learning the game late and playing in a 2-3 zone at Syracuse. White, a center in his fifth year who played 58 games and started 11 with Charlotte last season, might have a better chance of getting in the game. He languished on the bench his first three years in Oklahoma City, but roughly competent with the Bobcats, averaging 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in under 20 minutes of game time.