Jrue Holiday has not been a member of the Portland Trail Blazers for a week, now the All-Star guard is going to the Boston Celtics, who are bringing the 33-year-old to Beantown via trade. What does this mean for the balance of power in the East? The trade in analysis.
That actually happened quickly. After trading franchise icon Damian Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers once again made a big deal and immediately passed on All-Star Jrue Holiday, who was included in the Lillard deal, to the Boston Celtics.
In return, Portland will receive reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and center Robert Williams III. In addition, the Blazers will sweeten the transaction with two additional first-round picks: Boston is sending its own first-rounder from 2029 as well as the 2024 first-round pick from the Golden State Warriors, which the Celtics only received in the summer as part of the Marcus Smart trade to Memphis.
Jrue Holiday to Boston: The trade at a glance
Celtics receiveBlazers receiveJrue HolidayMalcolm Brogdon-Robert Williams III-First Rounder 2024 Warriors-First Rounder 2029 Celtics
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Jrue Holiday: This is what the trade means for the Celtics
The Bucks had presented the Lillard trade, now the Celtics followed suit by releasing the former Bucks star from Portland. It became apparent that President Brad Stevens once again did not hesitate to initiate a risky trade. In the summer, fan favorite Marcus Smart was sent away, now Williams is another player who had a high standing in the fan base. But there were also doubts about the fitness of the “Timelord”; after his knee injury in spring 2022, the center was no longer as dominant defensively last year and played significantly fewer minutes under coach Joe Mazzulla.
The Celtics are also sending two first-round picks for a 33-year-old who has only been an All-Star twice in his career. But that doesn’t really matter because Holiday is the type of player the Celtics need – the perfect replacement for former Defensive Player of the Year Smart.
If you look at the big picture compared to last season, Stevens has now traded Smart, Grant Williams, Brogdon and Robert Williams for Kristaps Porzingis and Holiday while only giving up a single first rounder. This obviously increases the quality, but a certain depth was sacrificed. But a top six from the starting five around Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Porzingis and Al Horford is a real announcement.
Boston Celtics: The squad at a glance
Point GuardShooting GuardSmall ForwardPower ForwardCenterJrue HolidayDerrick WhiteJaylen BrownJayson TatumKristaps PorzingisPayton PritchardSvi MykhailiukSam HauserOshae BrissettAl Horford-Dalano BantonJordan Walsh-Luke Kornet
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But you can also interpret this trade as a counter to Milwaukee’s Lillard move. You’re bringing Lillard? We’re catching the player who gave checkers hell for years. Just remember the series between Portland and New Orleans in 2018, when Lillard didn’t play at all and was swept out of the playoffs.
That’s another reason why Boston ultimately put so much on the table for Holiday. And one more thing: A year later, the Celtics would not have been able to make such a trade because of the new collective bargaining agreement. As a luxury tax team, they won’t be eligible to raise more money, which they did with this deal (around $2.7 million).
Another consequence is that Boston Holiday will also pay next summer, precisely because they cannot otherwise adequately replace their slot. This puts the guard in a good negotiating position with regard to a possible contract extension. The 33-year-old will receive just under $35 million this season and will then have a player option for $37.4 million. It is quite possible that Holiday will seek an early extension; according to Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN), it is likely that both sides are looking for an early solution.
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Jrue Holiday: How does he fit with the Celtics?
We’ve already touched on it in the trade scenarios for Holiday, the guard basically fits into any team, but Holiday could be particularly valuable for Boston. The two-time All-Star is capable of organizing an offense. There was still a hole in the squad after the Smart trade and there was a great dependency on White, with whom Holiday will now share these tasks.
Holiday is significantly more talented offensively than Smart, is a better shooter and can also create better for himself. Holiday also brings similar qualities defensively. He can keep guards in front of him and stand his ground at any time, even against larger opponents. It can be argued that Holiday was better in this area last year than Smart, who visibly declined as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
In general, Holiday complements an already strong defense, although Mazzulla still has options to play small or big. It will probably be a decision between White and Horford several times as to who will ultimately finish games.
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Jrue Holiday: These risks remain for the Celtics
The squad is now very thin. After the top six, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser are the players who actually saw minutes for the Celtics in the preseason. If Horford or Porzingis are missing, Mazzulla will have to rely more on Luke Kornet, who is the only remaining center in the squad.
Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk are wild cards, with the former probably having a better chance of getting minutes. The fact that we are already mentioning such names at this point shows the undertaking. There isn’t much flexibility due to the salary structure. Behind the top six, only Pritchard earns more than $4 million, so further trades are complicated.
The Celtics now have two free roster spots that still need to be filled. Stevens recently spoke of one of them being available for Blake Griffin if he wants to continue his career, otherwise the Celtics will certainly also be knocking on Reggie Bullock, who agreed to a buyout with the San Antonio Spurs over the weekend.
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Jrue Holiday: Is Boston now the one in the East?
If you don’t want to see a playoff series between the Celtics and the Bucks after this week, you can’t help it. Both teams have once again underlined their (championship) ambitions with these moves, with Milwaukee actually investing everything that was possible. In theory, Boston still has opportunities to improve the team.
On paper, the Bucks have two of the top three players (Giannis, Lillard), but Boston has such a consistent top six that it’s hard to argue against the Celtics. Although they no longer have any real means against Giannis (Grant Williams and Smart are gone, Horford is 37 years old), they do have two good options against Lillard (Holiday, White), while Milwaukee will have difficulty keeping Boston’s wing stars in check.
However, it will be many, many months before that happens and there is no guarantee of such a matchup in the postseason anyway. Since both Boston and the Bucks are top-heavy, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the two teams didn’t finish first and second in the East. But there should be no doubt that they are the best teams in the East.
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Jrue Holiday: The Blazers did everything right
Anyone who claimed a week ago that Portland accepted a mediocre offer for Lillard has now been proven wrong. In fact, the Blazers squeezed out significantly more with these two trades than would have been possible with a simple trade with Miami. As of now, Portland has landed the following assets with the two transactions:
Deandre AytonToumani CamaraMalcolm BrogdonRobert Williams IIIFirst-round pick 2024 WarriorsPick swap 2028 with MilwaukeeFirst-round pick 2029 CelticsFirst-round pick 2029 BucksPick swap 2030 with Milwaukee
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And Portland probably still isn’t finished. Initial reports indicate that Brogdon also has no future in the Rose City and will be passed on sooner or later. The Blazers will certainly get something here again.
The Blazers, on the other hand, apparently want to keep the “Time Lord”. It’s somewhat ironic that now that Lillard is gone, Portland finally has two centers who can anchor a defense in Ayton and Williams III. For now, it doesn’t matter that they both occupy the same position. Everything is subordinate to the rebuild, so there is no need for a quick fix.
All in all, you have to take your hat off to GM Joe Cronin. He resisted public pressure and actually waited until the right offers came along. It certainly wasn’t always easy because it wasn’t popular, but ultimately it was the right decision.
NBA: The Blazers squad at a glance
Point GuardShooting GuardSmall ForwardPower ForwardCenterScoot HendersonAnfernee SimonsMatisse ThybulleJerami GrantDeandre AytonMalcolm BrogdonShaedon SharpeRayan RupertKris MurrayRobert Williams III–Jabari WalkerToumani CamaraMoses Brown
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Jrue Holiday: Who are the losers?
At this point we need to briefly talk about Philadelphia and Miami. The Heat waited all summer for Lillard, but now they had to watch idly as the two biggest competitors strengthened themselves and became clear favorites in the East. Cronin is likely to be public enemy number one in Miami, and these two trades are two punches in the gut.
The situation is similar in Philadelphia, where a big problem with the stubborn James Harden is still unsolved. In Philly in particular, there will soon be even more pressure on the table if Joel Embiid slowly but surely loses hope.
At this point we recall an interview by the Cameroonian in July, when he no longer wanted to rule out saying goodbye to the city of brotherly love. “I want to win a title, but I don’t know if that will be in Philly or somewhere else.” Let this sentence sink in. Embiid knew exactly what he was saying here. The clock in Philadelphia is ticking – and louder and louder.
2023-10-02 14:39:11
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