A contender in the Western Conference has lately emerged as the likeliest landing spot for Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday.
Holiday, 34, personifies winning. The two-time NBA champ wouldn’t normally be considered a trade chip by any team he’s playing for, but the Celtics are facing difficult financial circumstances.
With superstar Jayson Tatum set to miss most or all of the 2025-26 season, Boston’s president of bball ops Brad Stevens might consider it wise to cut costs and establish some breathing room away from the evil second apron.
To do so, Stevens would have to trade at least one sizeable contract. Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7 million expiring) and Holiday ($104.4 million over the next three years) are the two most likely trade chips, based on the consensus of speculatory Celtics reporting that’s surfaced since the end of Boston’s season.
The chances that Holiday gets moved are far from zero — something legitimized by The Athletic’s Jay King this week.
“There will be a market for him,” King said of Holiday.
In an assertion mirrored by Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus last week, King zeroed in on a specific (albeit potential) suitor for Holiday that stands out above the rest.
“Among other teams (for Holiday), the (Dallas) Mavericks could make a lot of sense,” King wrote.
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“We already know how (GM Nico) Harrison feels about defense after he repeatedly said it wins championships,” King continued.
“His team could use an extra ballhandler while Kyrie Irving recovers from a torn ACL and a defensive-minded backcourt presence to play alongside Irving once he returns.”
“With (Cooper) Flagg set to join Anthony Davis in a deep frontcourt, the Mavericks have a chance to field a special defense. Adding Holiday would only turn that group into more of a problem for opponents. Good luck scoring on him with Davis and Flagg behind him.”
“Making the trade partner an even more logical fit, the Mavericks have a surplus in the frontcourt with Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively and P.J. Washington competing for minutes, plus some young players such as Max Christie who could appeal to Boston.”
For the Celtics, if a Jrue-Mavs deal was going to happen, snagging Gafford in exchange would be the best-case scenario, but he’d also be the most difficult asset to pry away from Dallas of the players mentioned by King. In addition to complications stemming from Gafford (justifiably) seeking an extension, he promises to be pursued by plenty of other squads including the Los Angeles Lakers.
Given Holiday’s injury-riddled 2024-25 and subsequent drop in value, the Celtics would most likely end up with Washington in return, although it appears a third team would also need to get involved.
Positionally, Washington would be a good fit for a Tatum-less Celtics rotation next season. He shot a decent 38.1 percent from three in 2024-25 and played a notable role in Dallas’ run to the NBA Finals a year ago.
Whether it’s Washington or someone else from a different team, Celtics fans aren’t going to be thrilled with the return Boston gets for Holiday if he’s traded this summer, but that won’t necessarily make it the wrong move.
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