Celtics send Jrue Holiday back to Trail Blazers
Jrue Holiday's acquisition from Portland helped spark the Boston Celtics to their NBA-record 18th championship last season.
Holiday is being sent back to the Trail Blazers by a Boston team that could now be in transition, a person with knowledge of the details said early Tuesday.
The Celtics will get Anfernee Simons and two second-round draft picks from the Trail Blazers.
The departure of Holiday, who made his sixth career All-Defensive team selection in his first season in Boston, was confirmed to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official.
Holiday was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to Portland in September 2023 when the Bucks acquired perennial All-Star Damian Lillard. Holiday was then dealt days later to the Celtics, eventually earning his second career title last June.
But the Celtics now have lost a second member of that starting lineup for at least part of next season, with All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum having surgery after an Achilles tendon injury in the loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Simons could provide some of the scoring punch the Celtics have lost, having averaged 19.3 points last season after going for a career-best 22.6 per game in 2023-24.
But the Celtics will miss the defense and leadership that Holiday provided. The two-time Olympic gold medalist's scoring was down, though, with the 11.1 points he averaged last season his lowest since his rookie season in 2009-10, and more than eight points lower than the 19.3 he put up in 2022-23 with the Bucks, when he was an All-Star.
More than that, the Celtics were likely motivated to trade Holiday because of the $104.4 million owed to him over the remaining three seasons of the contract extension they gave him last year, on top of the huge deals for Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Holiday, who helped the Bucks win the 2021 NBA title, has averaged 15.8 points in a 16-year career that also includes stints with Philadelphia and New Orleans.
Before trading Holiday, the Celtics' payroll next year was slated to be around $225 million, creating a tax bill of almost $280 million. The combined potential $500 million total price tag would have been a league record.
The larger concern was that figure would have exceeded not only the projected luxury tax threshold of $155 million, but also the first penalty apron projected of around $196 million and the second penalty apron of around $208 million. Both barriers carry restrictive penalties including limits on trades and what teams are allowed to do via free agency.
And that was all on top of the lack of clarity on if the team's incoming ownership would want to keep paying such hefty penalties to maintain the current roster after agreeing to a purchase in March that is expected to have a final price of a minimum of $6.1 billion.
Trading Holiday suggests that new ownership wants at least some reduced spending before the start of next season. That's especially true with Tatum out for at least a huge portion of next season and Brown coming off knee surgery.
Tatum signed an NBA-record five-year, $314 million contract last July that will begin next season and pay him $54 million. Brown is playing under a five-year, $304 million deal that kicked in this past season. He will make $53 million next season. That is followed by Kristaps Porzingis ($30 million), Derrick White ($28 million) and Sam Hauser ($10 million).
Porzingis seemingly would be the next potential player the Celtics would consider moving, with $60 million total left in his deal before he is eligible for free agency again in the summer of 2026. But there are questions about his health after he missed a significant number of games in the second half of the regular season and was limited in the playoffs because of a nagging respiratory illness.
No matter which direction the Celtics decide to go, Boston president of basketball operations Brad Stevens acknowledged last month after his team was eliminated from the playoffs that it's unclear whether so-called championship windows are becoming smaller because of the current rules governing the salary cap.
'That's a good question. I don't know,' Stevens said. 'I think certainly it is more challenging in certain circumstances for sure.'
New Orleans has agreed to trade veteran guard CJ McCollum, center Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to Washington for guard Jordan Poole, wing Saddiq Bey and the 40th overall pick in Thursday's second round of the NBA draft, a person with knowledge of the agreement said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What to expect from the Boston Celtics two second-round additions
On Thursday, June 26, the Boston Celtics struck a deal with the Orlando Magic that saw the Celtics send out the 32nd overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft in return for the 46th and 57th picks, along with a 2026 second-rounder and a 2027 second-rounder. Boston used the 46th and 57th picks to acquire Amari Williams and Max Shulga late in the second round. Both rookies are expected to spend the majority of next season with the Maine Celtics in the G League. Nevertheless, there's still a level of excitement surrounding the duo. Williams is arguably the best passing big man in his draft class, and Shulga is one of the better guard prospects in terms of multi-level scoring. Advertisement During a recent episode of the "Hold My Banner" podcast from NESN, Kasey Hudson, Annabelle Hasselbeck, and Ountae Campbell discuss Boston's decision to trade out of the 32nd pick, and what they're expecting from Boston's latest two rookies. You can watch the full video by clicking on the embedded video above. Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on: YouTube: Website: This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: What to expect from the Celtics two second-round additions
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
"You don't belong in this league, Homes" - Dominique Wilkins recalls when a trash-talking Larry Bird broke his confidence before a game
"You don't belong in this league, Homes" - Dominique Wilkins recalls when a trash-talking Larry Bird broke his confidence before a game originally appeared on Basketball Network. Some moments stick like splinters. For Dominique Wilkins, one of those came early in his NBA career — a face-off with Larry Bird that left him stunned before the ball had even touched the floor. The Boston Celtics dynasty ran through Bird's hands, his mind and his mouth. The 6-foot-9 forward's game was good — a deadeye shooter, a brilliant passer and a basketball I.Q. that cut through defenses before they even set. However, he played with a quiet arrogance that only a man backing it up with three MVP awards could afford. Wilkins had been brimming with confidence when he came up against the Celtics icon. A rising star with explosive athleticism and a talent for scoring in bunches, he believed he belonged. But Bird didn't see it that way — and he let Wilkins know before the game even began. "I went out for the opening tip, and I went to shake his hand," Wilkins recalled. "He just stood there and looked at me stone-faced with his hands behind his back. I was like, 'Whoa. Then we were getting ready for the tip, and he says to me, 'You don't belong in this league, Homes." Like many others, Wilkins had heard about Bird's trash talk before, but this was something else. The way Bird combined his words was different. He had a way of dissecting his opponent, piece by piece, basket by basket. Drafted third overall in 1982 by the Utah Jazz, the Atlanta icon was quickly rerouted to the Hawks in a deal that changed the course of his career — and the organization's future. From the jump, he was a force. Explosive. Unstoppable in the open court. By his fourth season, he had already claimed a scoring title, pouring in 30.3 points per game in 1985-86. Buckets came easy for Wilkins. Baseline spins, gravity-defying dunks, pull-up jumpers from the wing — he made it all look effortless. But scoring titles weren't enough in the Eastern Conference of the 1980s. Because Bird ruled the East. He had the attitude. Bird talked. Constantly. Not the hollow noise of a player trying to psych himself up. Bird's words were sharp, pointed and devastatingly accurate. He'd call his shots before they left his hands. He'd tell defenders exactly how he planned to score, and then he'd go do it. And the worst part was that he was usually right. "Then they had the ball, and I was on him," Wilkins said. "And he said, 'I don't know why they got you guarding me, Homes. You can't guard me.' Then, whap, he hit a 3. Then he came down again and said, 'They made a mistake putting you on me, Homes,' and he took another 3." The high-flying forward was just one of many who found themselves on the receiving end. In 1987, a skinny rookie out of UCLA named Reggie Miller thought he could go toe-to-toe with him during a matchup. Miller had hit a couple of shots early and figured he'd earned the right to chirp. He started talking to Bird, feeling himself a little too much. The Boston star let it slide for a moment. Then he decided to put the rookie in his place during a free throw attempt. He coldly asked the Pacers sharpshooter who he was before proceeding to tell him that he was the "best shooter" in the league before proceeding to make both shots from the charity stripe. He humiliated Miller. Trash talk in the NBA has always been part of the game, but few mastered it the way Bird did. He wasn't just a loudmouth. He was a three-time MVP, a three-time NBA champion and one of the league's most lethal shooters. "I knew Larry Bird was good," Wilkins said. "But man, that was different. He had this way of making you question yourself." Wilkins would go on to forge his own Hall of Fame career — a nine-time All-Star, a scoring champion, and one of the most scintillating dunkers in NBA history. But Bird's cold stare and sharp words left a mark. You don't belong in this league, Homes.'" - Dominique Wilkins recalls when a trash-talking Larry Bird broke his confidence before a gameThis story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Eagles rookie Ty Robinson receives another positive endorsement
The buzz keeps building as an Eagles rookie earns more praise from the media. This is probably a safe guess. Since you've watched the Philadelphia Eagles all your life, those of you who also love the college game have probably kept one eye on the Big Ten. These days, that's certainly harder than ever as it's now two schools short of becoming 'The Big 20'. Even with all of that being said, your Pennsylvania affiliations more than likely kept you from watching a ton of Nebraska football. Tom Osborne left a long time ago, and if we're being honest, most Eagles fans lost track of Matt Rhule after Philadelphia beat his Carolina Panthers in Week 5 of the 2021 season. The 2025 NFL Draft brought about some changes. Philadelphia drafted a Nebraska Cornhusker in Round 4, and though discipline tells us not to put too much stock in a rookie until he has played meaningful snaps, it's hard not to be excited. This guy's nickname is the 'Vanilla Gorilla' for Heaven's sake. ESPN's Tim McManus names Ty Robinson's selection as the Eagles' most underrated move They say offense sells tickets, and defense wins championships. One of the most significant talking points we've heard all offseason is the number of players lost from the defensive roster. Frankly, that take seems overstated. One of those weapons is rookie Ty Robinson, the aforementioned 'Vanilla Gorilla'. Gosh, it's easy to fall in love with that nickname, and it's easy to love what Tim McManus said about him. Tim is ESPN's Eagles insider, and he recently participated in an NFC East roundtable. Once the topic turned to each team's most underrated move, Robinson earned his shout-out. "Drafting DT Ty Robinson in the fourth round (was Philly's most underrated move). With minimal contact during OTA and minicamp practices, the offseason program isn't exactly conducive to properly evaluating linemen. But that hasn't stopped some of his new teammates from speaking highly of the Nebraska product. "That boy is fire, I ain't going to lie," DT Jalen Carter said. "He's moving good. He's a big boy. ... I think he's going to have a big impact this season." Robinson's NCAA career ended with 134 tackles, including 27 for loss. He also racked up a dozen sacks and 12 pass breakups. He earned Third-team All-Big Ten honors in his swan song with the Cornhuskers last season. This next part, however, is the best part of the story. Rhule gave him a single-digit jersey number, an honor reserved for the tough players on his team who have earned his respect. Ladies and gentlemen, we all loved Milton Williams and are sorry he's gone, but Ty Robinson isn't going to settle into this defense just fine.
