Celtics to explore potential trade for Jrue Holiday

Report: Celtics to explore potential trade for Jrue Holiday originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

With Damian Lillard set to join the Milwaukee Bucks, all eyes are on the Portland Trail Blazers as they decide what to do with Jrue Holiday.

The Trail Blazers acquired Holiday as part of the massive three-way deal that sent Lillard to Milwaukee. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, they are expected to immediately engage contending teams on trade talks involving the five-time All-Defensive selection.

The Philadelphia 76ers quickly emerged as a potential candidate to land Holiday, but it appears they’ll have competition in the form of another Eastern Conference contender: the Boston Celtics.

Boston is expected to explore the possibility of trading for Holiday, per The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.

Holiday would be the ideal replacement for fellow defensive guard Marcus Smart, who was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in June as part of the three-way Kristaps Porzingis trade. The two-time All-Star also gets the job done on the offensive end as he averaged 19.3 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor through 67 games last season with the Bucks.

Derrick White is penciled in as the Celtics’ starting point guard with Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard coming off the bench. If Boston hopes to add Holiday to the mix, it likely would have to put together a package that includes Brogdon, another piece (Robert Williams or Al Horford) to match salary, and draft capital.

The Celtics should be content heading into the season with their current roster, but acquiring Holiday would be the perfect counter to the Bucks’ blockbuster. For now, Milwaukee has overtaken Boston as the odds-on favorite to win the Eastern Conference in 2024.