Losing Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets was a tough blow, to say the least, for the Los Angeles Lakers. Knowing there is an elite upgrade available, that is ultimately unaffordable, is even tougher.

No, this discussion is not about Jake LaRavia, who joined the Lakers on a reported two-year, $12 million deal. The dream replacement for Finney-Smith, and what the two-way forward provides, would be Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. That dream will be too rich for Rob Pelinka this summer.

Jake Fischer reported in the lead-up to free agency that the Celtics were expecting to collect a king's ransom for any deal that could involve their two-way star. The price suggested was vastly out of the Lakers' capacity.

Fischer wrote, "Boston told at least one rival team that it would have insisted on a 'Mikal Bridges-type' package to part with Derrick White, league sources say. The Celtics have certainly received no shortage of inbound trade calls, ... but nothing got serious on either front."

It should be abundantly clear to anyone who knows anything about the Lakers' pool of assets that a package similar to that of what it took to pry Bridges away from the Brooklyn Nets is way too rich for their blood. Pelinka will need to look elsewhere.

Finney-Smith is the type of player any contender loves to have on its roster. A versatile defender who is also capable of seamlessly blending on the offensive side of the basketball court. Take that, multiple it by as silly of a number as imaginable, and one gets the Celtics chamionship-winning guard.

White walks the fine line of being so elite at his role that most just downright consider him a star, and understandably so. The two-time All-NBA defender brings relentless effort into everything he does on the basketball court.

Defense, playmaking, scoring, you name it and White probably does it feasibly well. His ability to tailor his game to the supporting cast around him is an invaluable quality that not everyone has, especially to his capacity.

The Lakers could greatly benefit from that kind of malleability and championship pedigree. Alas, the Celtics have wisely placed the asking price incredibly high for his services.

Even amid a financial crunch that sacrificed Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics have a clear understanding of where their true building blocks are on the roster. When Jayson Tatum eventually returns from his torn Achilles, White is more than likely to still be there waiting for him, to the dismay of teams like the Lakers.