Jaylen Brown eager to join forces with Jrue Holiday: "He's an assassin"

BOSTON -- It's been an offseason filled with change for the Boston Celtics, who have sent away Marcus Smart, Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon while bringing in Kristaps Porzingis and, most recently, Jrue Holiday.

It'll take some getting used to -- both for the Celtics on the floor and everybody watching at home. But Jaylen Brown sounds like someone who's quite excited by the prospect of playing with Holiday.

"As a competitor, he's an assassin," Brown said of Holiday. "So to be playing alongside, I think it'll be a tremendous honor."

Brown, who's gone up against Holiday in playoff series in 2022, said he knows about Holiday from experience.

"Jrue is fantastic," Brown said. "Tremendous amount of respect for Jrue, from somebody that he's guarded and I've had to guard. It's just, he plays with a certain force that you can just feel. He's just super solid, man."

Brown was speaking at Celtics media day, as the team opens up training camp this week. Some of the newsworthy items from the day:

--Kristaps Porzingis said that he is healthy, after dealing with plantar fasciitis this summer. That injury forced him to miss the FIBA World Cup for Latvia, but the extra rest this summer has him ready to hit the ground running for his first season in Boston.

Porzingis said he believes he suffered the injury after switching shoes during the summer.

--Brad Stevens spoke about the decision to trade away Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon in addition to two first-round picks in order to acquire Holiday.

"That is a real price," Stevens said. "But that's how good we think Jrue is."

Stevens also said: "There's a list of guys in the league that you always think you'll never have a real chance to get that you think are like perfect fits and that you'd love to be a Celtic. And Jrue was one of those guys."

--The bond between Jayson Tatum and Paul Pierce continues to grow.

Celtics fans have to be happy to see that.