A day after the Oklahoma City Thunder were crowned champions, last season’s hoisters of the Larry O’Brien trophy, the Boston Celtics, made a huge move. Per Shams Charania of ESPN Boston is sending Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks.
The Celtics acquired Holiday thinking that his leadership and defensive prowess would put them over the top. He paid immediate dividends as the Celtics won the chip in his first season with the team.
This was a case of deja vu because three years earlier, the Milwaukee Bucks acquired Holiday for the same reasons, and the Bucks became champions.
Are we getting a Holiday Three-Peat?
As of now, it sounds like Portland intends to keep Holiday.
The Trail Blazers finished last season with a 36-46 record, good for 12th in the Western Conference. The team finished 16th in defensive rating.
The fit and timeline don’t seem to mesh, as Holiday is 34 years old while the core in Portland is 24 years and younger. That said, I understand the thinking.
Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan are amazing on the defensive end with Clingan protecting the paint and Camara neutralizing all wings. Holiday provides an excellent point-of-attack defender, making the Trail Blazers a formidable unit for sure. In addition, no longer having Simons uplifts the defense simply by dissociation.
Portland is still a ways from being a contender, though.
I think the main allure of Holiday is to provide veteran leadership and teach the young players how to play the right way and win. His experience and wisdom will be invaluable for transforming the young pups into dawgs.
For Boston, the Jayson Tatum injury changed everything. With the Celtics far over the salary cap, projected to pay substantial tax penalties due to being over the second apron and unlikely to be true contenders next season, moves were likely to be made. And the first one happened on Monday.
Holiday has three years left on his contract and is set to make $32.4, $34.8 and $37.2 million. Simons has one year left on his contract at $27.6 million.
From a basketball perspective, Simons is 26 years old and a career 38% shooter from downtown. He is a professional getter of buckets and should thrive in the Celtics system. He’s not just a shooter, though, as he has a 41.5-inch vertical with the handle package and dexterity to get to the hoop. The spacing should look Grand Canyon-esque compared to what he dealt with in Portland.
The defense. Oh, the defense. Simons is not good on that end of the floor.
We shall see how it plays out, but the Celtics are not committed to him long term and Simons is young enough with enough cache that Boston could get a nice return for him if they so choose. Or they just get his contract off the books and free up $27.6 million for next season.
And therein lies the biggest mystery. Is this Simons acquisition just the tip of the spear for Boston? It would seem so.
Jaylen Brown is 29 years old and will make $53, $57, $61 and $64 million over the next four seasons. Kristaps Porzingis is 30 years old and his $30 million comes off the books after next season. Derrick White is 31 years old and is owed $28, $30, $32 and $34 million over the next four seasons.
The Simons and Porzingis contracts would free up $57 million after next season. Brown and White are highly desirable players and would command juicy assets.
Would it be sacrilege to think that Tatum, at age 27 and coming off an Achilles injury, would be in trade discussions? He’s owed $54, $58, $62, $67 and $71 million over the next five years. I’d imagine that Tatum would be the only untouchable, but if the price is right, it’s within the range of outcomes.
