The Boston Celtics acquired point guard Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers just days after he was shipped west from the Milwaukee Bucks in the blockbuster Damian Lillard trade, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
The Celtics land All-Star guard Jrue Holiday, elevating the Eastern Conference arms race. pic.twitter.com/1hNxn3bZcF
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2023
Holiday, who was just sent to Portland in a three-team deal, is headed back east to Boston in a move which will send guard Malcom Brogdon and center Robert Williams III to the Trail Blazers, Wojnarowski reported. (RELATED: Police Arrest NBA Star Kevin Porter Jr. For Allegedly Strangling Former WNBA Player Girlfriend In Manhattan)
The Celtics reportedly beat out a few eastern rivals with the strongest trade package to acquire Holiday, who had Boston at the top of his list of preferred destinations, Wojnarowski reported.
Holiday, who is playing on the final year of a four-year deal, is expected to work on a long-term deal with the team, per Wojnarowski.
The Celtics are also sending two first-round picks to Portland. A 2024 first-round pick they acquired from the Golden State Warriors and an additional 2029 first-round pick are heading to the Trail Blazers, who have collected an impressive war chest of talent and draft picks in the wake of the Lillard trade, per Wojnarowski.
If you ask me, the move is another in a recent series of headscratchers made by the Celtics’ front office. In June they traded their best defensive player in Marcus Smart for an offense-first big man in Kristaps Porzingis. Now they move Brogdon, whose 112.6 defensive rating in 2023 led their starting guards, and Williams, their only true rim protector, for Holiday. Holiday, admittedly, is a great two-way player, but still lagged behind Brogdon on defense, finishing with a 112.4 defensive rating in 2023.