Is This Celtics’ Next Target After Blockbuster Trade For Jrue Holiday?

The Boston Celtics probably are done with their offseason maneuvering after acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers — right?

Well, it was fair to assume the same after Boston swapped Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team deal and signed Jaylen Brown to a supermax contract extension. Yet, the Celtics pounced on the opportunity to land Holiday on Sunday after the Milwaukee Bucks shipped him to Portland last week as part of a blockbuster trade for Damian Lillard.

So, shrug emoji.

The Celtics have a lot of money on the books — now and for the future — which could prevent another sizable splash. But ESPN NBA insider Kevin Pelton raised an interesting point Sunday in grading the Celtics-Blazers trade that could reveal Boston’s next offseason target.

Reggie Bullock, come on down.

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Here’s what Pelton wrote:

The Celtics could also fill the roster spot created in this trade with a free agent, but will be subject to new restrictions preventing teams above the first luxury-tax apron from signing players waived midseason who previously were making more than the value of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception ($12.4 million).

(Notably, those restrictions don’t apply to Reggie Bullock after the veteran wing agreed to a buyout with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. Bullock doesn’t qualify because the move will come before the start of the regular season, and also because his salary was below that threshold. The battle to sign Bullock could be an interesting pivot point in the title race, with both Boston and Milwaukee surely in the mix.)

Pelton wasn’t alone in speculating about a possible pursuit of Bullock. The Athletic’s John Hollinger floated the idea in a roundtable piece published Monday, and longtime NBA reporter David Aldridge agreed with the assessment that Boston might now turn its attention to the 32-year-old swingman.

Aldridge then wondered whether Delon Wright of the Washington Wizards could be an option for the C’s. Boston, after all, still has assets with which to work in the trade market, even if matching salaries could prove difficult.

Here’s what Aldridge wrote:

I have to think, as John mentioned, that the C’s will be all-in on Bullock, who’s not looking to make all the money in the world, just to be on a good team that has a chance to compete at a high level. We all agree that fits Boston, right? Bullock and the Spurs had an amicable divorce; the Dame/Holiday machinations league-wide made a deal for the veteran marksman all but impossible this week, and no one wanted to wait any longer. But if they can’t get Bullock signed once he clears waivers Tuesday … I mean, a guy like Delon Wright, someone whose advanced defensive numbers are crazy good, is at least theoretically possible via trade. If Boston was willing to attach one or two of its remaining surplus picks in a potential deal, I can’t imagine Washington would reject it out of hand.

All told, the Celtics have a loaded roster. Hence why they’re co-favorites (with the Bucks) to win the Eastern Conference and the NBA Finals this season.

Adding Holiday to a rotation that also includes Brown, Porzingis, Al Horford, Derrick White and, of course, Jayson Tatum could be enough to put Boston over the top in 2023-24. Few, if any, teams across the NBA can match the Celtics’ top-end talent.

Still, depth could become an issue, especially in the frontcourt. So, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens presumably will leave no stone unturned as he puts the finishing touches on what Boston hopes is a championship-caliber roster before the new campaign tips off.