Jrue Holiday became the most coveted player in the market this week, and the Celtics could swing a big trade to acquire the veteran guard.
Holiday was part of a three-team deal that reportedly sent Damian Lillard from the Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks. The move had ripple effects on the Celtics’ standing in the Eastern Conference, which is why a move for Holiday makes sense.
Portland reportedly doesn’t plan on keeping the two-time All-Star, and it can acquire even more assets after parting ways with its franchise cornerstone of the past decade.
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The Celtics reportedly are among multiple teams interested in Holiday, so the competition will be steep, but Portland already has a player in mind on Boston’s roster.
“With (Malcolm) Brogdon to match Holiday’s salary, yeah, Payton Pritchard is going out the door in that scenario,” Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer said on the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast, per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “Payton Pritchard is definitely someone on Portland’s radar. He played college basketball at Oregon. Clearly, that would be a match made in heaven. But there’s no way to really get the salaries to match if you’re not including Robert Williams or Al Horford. It just kind of gets thorny.”
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It’s tough to decide which of the two big men would have to leave given the different skill sets they bring to the Celtics. Williams is a prolific shot blocker when healthy and raises the ceiling of Boston’s defense, which the C’s would increase further if they acquired Holiday. But Horford is a veteran leader who could be needed after Marcus Smart was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies. Horford also fits Joe Mazzulla’s heavy three-point shooting system, especially with his 39.6% 3-point percentage in the playoffs.
The Celtics certainly could try to find a big man off the free agent market if they deem Holiday valuable enough to acquire.
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Brogdon and Pritchard’s names have been floated multiple times over the past year with the former nearly traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and the latter seeking more playing time.
The decision ultimately will come down to president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the other offers the Trail Blazers receive.
Featured image via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
