Brad Stevens Earns Praise From Jrue Holiday After Celtics Exit
It was tough seeing Jrue Holiday leave
During the offseason, Brad Stevens began deconstructing the Boston Celtics’ 2024 championship roster. The franchise was facing a $500 million payroll, including luxury tax penalties. Jrue Holiday was among the veterans who Stevens moved via trade, sending him to the Portland Trail Blazers.
In a recent interview with Jay King of The Athletic, Holiday praised Stevens for how he handled the entire situation, noting that he had been told he could possibly be traded
“Brad communicated that (a trade was possible), and I appreciate him for it – that it was a possibility,” Holiday told King. “He even said that it might not happen; we don’t know. So, just the fact that … I mean, Brad being Brad, but him having hard conversations and being able to say something like that, I respect him. I’m really glad that he was able to just give me fair warning.”
Holiday spent two seasons with the Celtics, helping them secure a franchise 18th championship banner. It was the second time in his career that he’d joined a team on the precipice of success and helped the team get over the hump, having held a similar role with the Milwaukee Bucks.
In 131 regular-season games for the Celtics, Holiday averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists, shooting 46.4% from the field and 39.2% from three-point range. He finished the 2023-24 season in the top six of Defensive Player of the Year voting and as a member of the All-Defensive Second Team.
The veteran guard has also impressed since moving to Portland. He’s played 12 games so far this season, dropping 16.7 points per game, along with 5.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists.
Losing Holiday undoubtedly hurt the Celtics. However, given the financial restrictions the Celtics were dealing with, the move made perfect sense.
