The Boston Celtics got an excellent grade for the trade for then-Portland Trail Blazers veteran combo guard Jrue Holiday in a recent analysis put together by Bleacher Report NBA analyst Zach Buckley. The Celtics capitalized on the prior deal that had sent Holiday to the Blazers in the Milwaukee Bucks’ trade for vet guard Damian Lillard, bringing the UCLA alum to Boston to complete the roster that won the 2024 NBA Championship.
Given that context, it is easy to use hindsight to say that it was a no-brainer of a trade. But at the time, there were serious questions about how Holiday’s game would age, and more proximately, how he plays in the postseason.
“Holiday’s presence was hugely helpful in virtually all facets,” writes Buckley. “His defense was among the Association’s very best; he earned All-Defensive second-team honors and took sixth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.”
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“His offensive volume predictably decreased, but his efficiency climbed in his more compact role,” added the B/R analyst. “The Celtics won a record-setting 18th NBA championship, and they’re poised to potentially add to that count.”
“They’ve extended all the key members of this core, including Holiday, who signed a four-year, $135 million pact in April,” says Buckley. “Boston might be great for a while, and adding a puzzle-solver like Holiday is a quietly critical reason why.”
Final grade for Boston? An excellent A-.
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