NBA Trade Rumors: The Boston Celtics should be willing to go all-in for Jrue Holiday.
Before the Damian Lillard trade, the Boston Celtics were viewed as the clear-cut favorite in the Eastern Conference. Now that Lillard is on the Milwaukee Bucks, that’s no longer the case. At least entering the season, the Bucks (with Lillard) will be entering the 2023-24 NBA season as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference.
But that doesn’t mean the Celtics should throw in the towel. Even though Milwaukee improved, they’re not an overwhelming favorite over Boston. In fact, I’d argue that there’s one realistic move out there that could further improve the Celtics’ title hopes in the East.
Ironically, it’s for the one player that was a key part of the Lillard deal in the first place – Jrue Holiday.
After losing Marcus Smart in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, there’s a glaring hole in the Celtics’ backcourt. Boston has reasonable depth with Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon still on the roster, but the defensive intensity and veteran leadership that Smart brought to the team will be missed – both on and off the court.
Holiday may not be Smart, but there is a lot of overlapping in how both players are effective. The Celtics, in an attempt to strike back after this move by the Bucks, should be willing to go all-in for Holiday who is likely to be traded soon.
What a potential offer from the Boston Celtics could look like
Trying to predict what a potential offer for Holiday would look like could be complicated. There are two things that it will depend on. For one, the market will dictate the offers. There’s expected to be a great market for Holiday and that could create some sort of bidding war for the Blazers.
Secondly, what’s the starting point for Portland? An expiring contract and a first-round pick? Or perhaps even a young player and a first-round pick? It’ll be interesting to see how this market develops, but it’s clear that the Celtics should be hands-on throughout this entire process.
If I had to predict a package the Celtics could offer, it’d probably be built around Malcolm Brogdon’s expiring contract, Payton Pritchard, and a future first-round pick.
Whether or not the Blazers would view that as enough or if it’d get beat by another offer from a contender remains to be seen, but I do believe that’s a solid starting point for the Celtics in a possible pursuit of Holiday.
Based on the moves they made this offseason, it’s clear that the Celtics are all in on this season. If they weren’t, they probably wouldn’t trade Smart. If Holiday is available and affordable, it would be poor management for the Celtics not to explore the possibility. He could very well be the final piece of a championship puzzle, even after the Bucks’ bold move of acquiring Lillard.