The Celtics apparently weren’t the only NBA team willing to pay a hefty price for Jrue Holiday.
Boston sent Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks to Portland on Sunday in exchange for Holiday, who landed with the Trail Blazers as a result of last Wednesday’s Damian Lillard trade. The blockbuster deal immediately set up a bidding war for Holiday, as it was understood that he wasn’t going to stick around in the Rose City.
On a recent episode of the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, the ESPN NBA insider revealed the finalists of the Lillard sweepstakes.
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“I’m not sure exactly where the offers were at the end for the Blazers before they decided on the Celtics’ offer, but based on my conversations, my feel was there was at least three teams who were making significant bids.” Windhorst said, as transcribed by RealGM. “The reason it was three, and the teams I really think were there in the end, were the Celtics, Heat and the Clippers. The reason I think those three teams were there (is) because I think those were the three teams Jrue Holiday was really focused on, at some point, being able to sign a longer-term contract for.”
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The Celtics acquiring Holiday must have been a particularly tough pill to swallow for the Heat. Between Lillard ending up in Milwaukee and Holiday relocating to Boston, Miami watched a pair of Eastern Conference rivals land high-level guards who could have been perfect fits in South Beach.
As for the Clippers, perhaps Brogdon could be a consolation prize after missing out on Holiday. Los Angeles reportedly still is in pursuit of the veteran guard, who ended up with the Clippers in the original framework of Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis trade.
Featured image via Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports Images
