Successfully reduced luxury tax
The Celtics have released veteran guard Drew Holiday and have made a trade to win two second-round draft picks with Unfanny Simons from the Trail Blazers, ESPN reporter Shems Charania reported.
The Celtics, who were eliminated in the conference semi-finals this season and missed a consecutive championship, are likely to be on full leave next season as Jason Tatum suffered a serious injury to a torn Achilles tendon in the playoffs. With the absence of an ace, it’s tough to aim for the championship, and salary cuts will become the top priority this offseason, and this trade will be the first step.
Holiday supported the team this season with tough defense and leadership, but despite being a huge 35-year-old veteran, the remaining contracts were over $100 million (approximately 14.5 billion yen) in three years, including player options in the final year, making him the Celtics’ number one candidate to release. Meanwhile, Simons, who will join the Celtics, will have a salary of $27 million (about 4 billion yen) a year remaining.
Simons is 26 years old and is in his prime, and has averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 70 appearances this season. His 3-point shots average 8.5 attempts per game, with a success rate of 36.3%, which seems to be a good match for the Celtics, who throw a lot of 3-point shots. Once the team fits, you can just extend the contract, and if that’s not the case, it can be used as a trading piece based on your past track record.
Incidentally, Holiday was handed over to the Blazers in the off-season trade in which Damian Lillard joined the Blazers from the Blazers, but was traded to the Celtics shortly afterwards. Holiday left the Blazers without participating in training, but he once expressed his understanding of his desire to play for a team that could compete for the championship, and expressed his gratitude to the Blazers leaders for making the Celtics transfer a reality.
The Blazers are still in the process of rebuilding this season with 36 wins and 46 losses, but it is expected that they will continue to build a team with Shadon Sharp as their mainstay in the future. Holiday is expected to contribute to this reconstruction as a guide to young players and a key part of defense.
According to ESPN, the trade will allow the Celtics to cut their Luxury Tax payments for next season by $40 million, but to fall below the second apron, they will need to cut more salary cuts and will continue to release their mainstay in the future. It is safe to say that Holiday was able to be released under good conditions without being able to see its feet. We’ll be looking forward to the next step of team president Brad Stevens, who will be in charge of the formation.
