It's Boston Celtics days of future past! Where we discuss Celtics alumni who used to play for them and with each other. In today's edition, we've got Evan Turner, a not-so-forgotten relic from the Brad Stevens-Isaiah Thomas days, discussing the prospect of Celtics champion Jrue Holiday re-joining their former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Turner was blunt, believing that Holiday becoming a Sixer again would bring them a title.
If jrue holiday goes to Philly then that’s your 2027 nba champions
— Evan Turner (@thekidet) July 30, 2026
Don’t @ me
Honestly, it's hard to disagree, and not just because the Sixers are loaded after adding Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. Among their flaws is their lack of players who can do the little things to win basketball games. The star power is undeniable, but their main question is whether they have players who help along the margins.
That's why Jrue Holiday would be perfect for them. Boston knows this, as they went all in on him in 2023 for good reason. He simply is a game-changer who does all the little things a title team wants. He did it for the Celtics and the Bucks, and even in his mid-30s, he'd do it for the Sixers. The Trail Blazers have had absolutely no regrets about adding him when they had the chance.
It's hard to see how it wouldn't be the same in Philadelphia. Play elite defense? Space the floor for their scorers? Provide complementary playmaking? Pair Brown next to someone he's familiar with? It's hard to see how adding Holiday to the Sixers wouldn't make them the title favorites.
There's only one small problem...
How exactly would the Sixers pull this off?
Holiday's coming off a pretty good season in Portland, where he may be aging, but like Al Horford, it's at a snail's pace. It's not like the Trail Blazers would just let him go, and if they would, teams would have to pay a good price for him.
Philadelphia would have to match the contracts and offer assets to get him back on the team. If Portland wasn't willing to pay up for Brown a few weeks back, it's hard to see them doing the same now with the Sixers.
Boston only got him in the first place because they caught an extremely lucky break that Milwaukee traded him to Portland, who didn't need him then, for Damian Lillard. Then Portland caught a lucky break that Boston was selling him off for as little as possible just to get under the NBA's second tax apron.
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It's accurate to say that Philadelphia's already gotten their fair share of luck this summer. Holiday would be their last piece, but unless Portland has a good reason to trade him (they don't), he's not going anywhere.
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