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The Boston Celtics might be looking to trade Jrue Holiday. The Celtics have the most expensive roster in the NBA. Unfortunately, their championship window might have closed, at least for next season, as Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the playoffs. The team still has a lot of depth and another star in Jaylen Brown, but their odds of thriving without their best player are slim.
Until Tatum is back, shedding salary makes sense. After all, the Celtics are well past the second apron line for the salary cap, and serious repercussions come with having such a high payroll. Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser, and Jrue Holiday have all come up in trade rumors.
The Celtics won't undergo a full-blown rebuild, but one or two of those players can certainly be sent packing. Holiday will be making $30 million-plus in each of the next three seasons, and he is already 34 years old.
The guard was instrumental in helping the team win a championship, but he clearly took a step back this season, so he seems like the most likely player that the team would trade. The Sacramento Kings have reported interest in Holiday. So what would a deal between the Celtics and Kings look like?
Kings trade proposal for Jrue Holiday
Kings receive: Jrue Holiday
Celtics receive: Malik Monk, Terence Davis, Keon Ellis, Isaac Jones
Projections have the Celtics at $20 million over the second apron next season. They desperately need to cut costs, and a trade involving Holiday would do just that, both in the short and long term.
A deal with the Kings that sheds Holiday's contract will get the Celtics closer to being under the second apron, which is important because if they are past the second apron for another season, then their first-round pick seven years out will be moved to the bottom of the first round.
The Celtics would clear over $13 million off the books in a move for Malik Monk, Terance Davis, Keon Ellis, and Isaac Jones. Holiday went from 19.3 points per game in his final season with the Milwaukee Bucks to just 12.5 points in his championship-winning season with the Celtics. He regressed even further to a scoring average of just 11.1 points this past season.
Scoring was never meant to be Holiday's calling card, but his drop in efficiency is a concern. More so, Holiday's defense took a step back. Holiday has long been one of the best defensive players in the NBA, but it is hard to keep up the grueling and aggressive style of play on that end that Holiday has thrived with, especially as players get older.
With Derrick White on the roster and capable of playing the same role as Holiday, the veteran guard is expendable, especially because he will be well past his prime by the time Tatum comes back from injury. There is more incentive than just getting rid of Holiday in this deal for the Celtics, though.
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Malik Monk is seven years younger than Holiday and is one of the best sixth men in the league. Monk is a high-difficulty shotmaker who averaged a career-high 17.2 points per game this past season.
The Celtics would value his bucket-getting ability while Tatum recovers, and he'd be a luxury upon Tatum's return. Monk is under contract for just as long as Holiday, but he will make $14 million less next year.
Terence Davis and Keon Ellis are also intriguing players for a team like Boston because they are so cheap. Both players make around $2 million but are talented enough to provide rotation minutes if need be. The Celtics' second apron predicament will limit their ability to add to their roster, so adding cheap players to provide depth is key for Boston.
Would the Kings make this trade for Jrue Holiday?
Although Monk is younger, cheaper, and scored more last season, there is no denying that Holiday would be an upgrade in Sacramento's rotation, at least for the short term. Holiday is a former All-Star and perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate who still has something left in the tank.
The Kings are desperate for a point guard because they traded De'Aaron Fox away. Both star player Domantas Sabonis and general manager Scott Perry have made it clear that the Kings lack a floor general on the roster.
Last season, the team had almost no playmaking outside of Sabonis, who is a center. Holiday isn't necessarily an elite passer, but he has spent a long time in the NBA playing the point guard position.
Perry even pursued Holiday when he was the general manager of the New York Knicks before the New Orleans Pelicans traded Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020. The Kings don't have a lot of defensive talent on their roster, with Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan as their best players. Holiday would fix that issue.
Even so, the Kings have already pursued aging players before, such as their trades for LaVine and DeRozan, and it has gotten them nowhere. Rebuilding makes more sense for the Kings than adding another player who is past his prime.
