Celtics Trade Receives Unexpected Change on Monday
The Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a trade that will swap Jrue Holiday for Anfernee Simons. Doing so helps the Celtics save money while also maintaining their cap flexibility.
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Simons is on an expiring contract, so whether the Celtics re-sign him or not, if he's on the roster this season, that essentially removes Holiday's contract from Boston's payroll. This was Boston's aim all along, no matter what they got back for Holiday, so mission accomplished for them.
The real question will be whether Simons will actually be on the team when the season starts. Boston will likely only continue to try to shed salary as the offseason progresses.
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4)David Butler II-Imagn Images
A few weeks after the trade was agreed to in principle, some details were changed as the trade became official. Originally, two second-round picks were going back to Boston, too, but that is no longer the case. Sean Highkin revealed the details.
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"The Anfernee Simons-Jrue Holiday trade is now official, without the previously reported second-round picks going from Portland to Boston," Highkin wrote. "The final deal is a straight 1-for-1 player swap."
The Oregonian's Aaron Fentress then explained that the change was made because "a recent review of Holiday's medicals revealed nothing substantial enough to warrant the trade being negated. However, there was enough there to lead the Blazers to alter the terms of the deal slightly."
This has happened in the past for the Celtics. When a snag in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston occurred, the team agreed to send the Cleveland Cavaliers an additional second-round pick after seeing Isaiah Thomas' medicals.
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A little less than an hour after Portland announced the deal, the Celtics also made it official on their end.
Related: Wizards Facing Backlash After Trade Announcement on Sunday
Related: Celtics' Derrick White Post Turns Heads After Warriors Trade Report
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
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