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ESPN reported that the Celtics would get
Anfernee Simons and two second-round 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,
moving right into the starting lineup and eventually earning his
second career title last June.
But the Celtics have now 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.
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