NBA Insider Floats Celtics As Potential Landing Spot For Jrue Holiday

The Damian Lillard trade shook the NBA to its core Wednesday, with the Portland Trail Blazers sending one of the league’s best players to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-team blockbuster that also involved the Phoenix Suns.

Now, we await the aftershock. And that aftershock centers around Jrue Holiday, one of the pieces Milwaukee shipped to Portland.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst argued shortly after Wednesday’s trade that Holiday ultimately could impact this season’s NBA title race more than Lillard, as the former’s skill set makes him a perfect complement on a star-laden team.

“Two days ago, you couldn’t get Jrue Holiday from the Bucks unless you were offering a superstar player and draft picks,” Windhorst said Thursday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “Now, Portland is going to be willing to sell him, basically for draft compensation. You’re not going to have to send them a great player. That means a bunch of teams that could compete for the title with the Bucks are now brought into it. I’m talking about Boston, New York, Miami, potentially the LA Clippers and even more teams.”

Windhorst explored potential landing spots for Holiday more in-depth in a piece published Wednesday night on ESPN.com. Here’s what the NBA insider wrote regarding the Boston Celtics, who theoretically could offer the Blazers a draft pick-heavy trade package:

Same for the Boston Celtics, who have been looking for a Malcolm Brogdon trade since June and have multiple first-round picks to offer for a player who could replace the defensive leadership of guard Marcus Smart. Holiday was a thorn in the Celtics’ side for years as a Buck and seeing him go West might be a relief, but what if they could acquire him themselves?

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Windhorst wasn’t alone in floating the Celtics, whom are expected to explore the possibility of trading for Holiday, according to The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also connected the dots when evaluating the market for Holiday, a 33-year-old point guard whose contract includes a player option for next season.

“This deal’s ripple effects are still fully yet to be felt, because Portland’s next task is to find a team to trade (for) Jrue Holiday. And there are no shortage of contenders in the league who would love to make a deal with the Blazers for Jrue Holiday,” Wojnarowski said Thursday on “Get Up.” “Among them: the Celtics, the 76ers in the East. I think the Clippers in the West. But any team who’s trying to win and is trying to really keep up with this arm’s race now in the East, with Milwaukee attracting Damian Lillard in this deal, they want in on Jrue Holiday.”

Will Holiday make a bigger impact this season than Lillard? That’s certainly debatable, as Lillard is an elite scorer who seemingly fits perfectly in Milwaukee alongside two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

But Holiday is the superior defender with championship DNA. Adding him to a core that includes Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis sure would be fascinating for Boston.