Boston Celtics ‘appeal’ to multi-time All-Star as trade destination: Report

For the last day and a half, Boston Celtics fans have been buzzing about the idea of Jrue Holiday being a potential trade target. Holiday, now 34, was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the three-team blockbuster centered around Damian Lillard.

The two-time All-Star isn’t expected to ever suit up for Portland, as they look to reroute him to a new home via trade.

According to The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang, Holiday’s list of preferred destinations includes Boston.

“League sources told the Miami Herald on Thursday that the [Miami] Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers are destinations that appeal to Holiday,” Chiang and Jackson wrote. “That’s important because Holiday, 33, can become a free agent next summer with a player option worth $37.4 million in his contract for the 2024-25 season.”

What would it take for the Boston Celtics to trade for Jrue Holiday?

Well, it isn’t going to be as easy as most would hope, that’s for sure.

Holiday is set to make $36.8 million this upcoming season, meaning that the Celtics would have to find some way to match that salary in a potential trade.

For them to get there, it’d take a combination of one of Derrick White or Malcolm Brogdon, who each make roughly $22 million, and one of Al Horford or Robert Williams III, who are each earning $10-14 million.

All four of those guys have played a key role to Boston’s recent success. Brogdon won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last year, White was All-Defensive second team, Horford has come up big in the postseason on the defensive end, and Williams has been a game-changer when healthy.

Giving up one of those guys and some draft capital wouldn’t sting too bad, but having to find a way to mask the losses of two of them would be a steep hill to climb.