Celtics acquire Jrue Holiday, trading away Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon and first-round draft picks
BOSTON -- Just days after the Milwaukee Bucks added Damian Lillard via trade, the Boston Celtics have made a move in response.
The Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers, the team announced Sunday afternoon. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the move.
"We are excited to see Jrue in a Celtics uniform. He plays the game with a great competitive character and his impact on and off the court has been felt everywhere throughout his career," Celtics president of basketball ops. Brad Stevens said in a statement announcing the trade. "We are overjoyed to welcome Jrue, Lauren, and the entire Holiday family to Boston."
The Celtics are giving up a lot in the deal, trading away Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and two first-round draft picks. Holiday is entering the third year of a four-year contract, though he has a player option for the 2024-25 season at $37.365 million. Wojnarowski reported that the Celtics hope to sign Holiday to a long-term deal.
The Celtics were among the teams at very top of Holiday's wish list in recent days and expectation is Celtics are eager to retain him long-term, sources said. Holiday has a year left on deal. Boston beat out several teams in both conferences with a significant trade package.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2023
Holiday was traded by the Bucks to the Blazers earlier this week in the Lillard trade.
The 33-year-old Holiday has played for the 76ers (who drafted him 17th overall in 2009), Pelicans and Bucks, winning a championship with Milwaukee in 2021. Holiday earned his second career All-Star nod last year, when he averaged 19.3 points, 7.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game in 67 games played for Milwaukee. In 906 career regular-season games, he's averaged 16.4 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. He's played in 70 postseason games, averaging 17.5 points, 6.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. He's started all but eight games in which he's played since 2017, and he's started 825 of his 906 career games.
Williams, 25, was selected with the 17th overall pick by the Celtics in 2018. He's been a highly effective player when healthy, but he's been unable to consistently remain on the floor for Boston throughout his career.
Brogdon, 30, was acquired by Boston via trade with Indiana last summer. He played in 67 games off the bench for Boston, averaging 14.9 points, 3.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. Dealing with an injury during the postseason, he averaged 11.9 points, 2.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds in his 19 games.
The Holiday acquisition continues an offseason of major change for the Celtics, who had previously traded away Marcus Smart to Memphis in order to acquire Kristaps Porzingis from Washington. The Celtics also sent Grant Williams away via sign-and-trade while inking Jaylen Brown to a long-term extension.