The presumption is that the Boston Celtics will undergo an offseason yard sale, and among their several trade candidates is veteran guard Jrue Holiday.
It’s been over a year since Holiday and the Celtics agreed to a four-year, $120.5 million contract extension, indicating the 34-year-old could’ve retired in Boston. Holiday was an integral part of helping deliver the franchise its record-18th championship, and although that wasn’t too long ago, the circumstances have changed.
Holiday’s future with the Celtics is uncertain and increasingly unlikely as roster tweaks — a.k.a. trades — are expected to come. The 16-year veteran has $104 million remaining on his contract with Boston, and according to NBA insider Marc Stein, among the potential trade suitors that could emerge in the coming months are the Dallas Mavericks.
Since trading away generational talent Luka Doncic, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has watched his luck turn around. Dallas entered the NBA Draft Lottery earlier this month with a 1.8% chance at getting the first overall pick, and — to the displeasure of conspiracy theorists everywhere — Harrison and the Mavericks defied the odds. They can select Duke’s Cooper Flagg in June’s draft and in the meantime, the franchise is seeking ways to add a guard — Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls and Chris Paul, a free agent this offseason, are also names to watch, Stein wrote.
Holiday regressed this past season with the Celtics, averaging 11.1 points — the fewest since his rookie season in 2009-10 — along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists. The impact Holiday supplied right out of the gate when debuting with Boston last season faded. Holiday shot 61.9% on corner 3-point attempts during the title run, and this past season, that dropped to 30%, even though he fired more attempts (4.9) per game.
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The incentive for keeping Holiday, who’s set to make over $32 million for the next three seasons, isn’t what it was a year ago.
Bill Chisholm, the next majority owner-in-waiting, made a record-large $6.1 billion purchase of the Celtics two months ago. The league’s board of governors still needs to approve the sale this summer, and the projected $500 million payroll if the Celtics do nothing isn’t in the team’s best interest.
So, it’ll be up to Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, the architect who built the roster, to modify his greatest masterpiece.
“The reality is we have a lot of good players,” Stevens said during the team’s end-of-season press conference, per NBC Sports Boston. “We’re in a unique situation. They’re all under contract, and obviously, there are several basketball penalties that will come with that amount of salary. So we just have to weigh it all and make those decisions, and I’ll have more clarity after we meet and talk and go through it.”
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Boston already has over $600 million committed to the contracts of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Tatum-Brown cost, combined with the salaries of Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Holiday, pushes the Celtics well above the second apron. That means tax penalties that aren’t worth it, especially coming off an ugly playoff elimination in the second round.
Tatum, Brown and White are the presumed untouchable assets in the eyes of the team.
Holiday, meanwhile, could pair well with Kyrie Irving in Dallas. The two-time champion remains an elite on-ball defender, an experienced playoff performer and could net the Celtics a solid return that’ll keep them in contention while Tatum recovers from his ruptured Achilles tendon injury.
If anyone could get the job done in pulling off a worthwhile trade, it’s Stevens.
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