The Celtics are “most definitely listening” to trade offers for Jrue Holiday, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports in his latest Substack column (subscription required).
Boston has been expected to consider parting with the former All-Star as it tries to duck below the second apron for next season. The Celtics would face a historic payroll/tax bill by keeping the current roster together, and their chances to compete for a title have been lessened by Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury.
Holiday, who’ll turn 35 this week, is coming off another productive season, although his scoring average (11.1 PPG) was his lowest since his rookie year. He also contributed 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 62 games while playing 30.6 minutes per night and posting a .443/.353/.909 shooting line.
He’s a six-time All-Defensive honoree and remains one of the league’s top perimeter defenders.
Holiday has an expensive price tag after signing a four-year, $134.4MM extension last spring. He’ll make $32.4MM next season, $34.8MM in 2026/27 and holds a $37.2MM player option for 2027/28.
While the Celtics are trying to cut costs, they’ll almost certainly have to take back at least one contract in a Holiday deal, notes Brian Robb of MassLive. Brooklyn is the only team that could absorb Holiday into cap space, while anyone else would have to send back a minimum of $22.25MM in salary in June or nearly $24MM in July.
The Mavericks and Clippers are among the teams that have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Holiday, although it has been suggested that L.A.’s interest is exaggerated.
Terrible contract extension
Not for holiday.
Not so much if Tatum hadn’t been injured for this season (which was why Boston did it), but Boston knew the pain was coming by 2027. It just arrived a year early.
Tatum got hurt with like 3 minutes left and they were losing by 13 or something like that. That game was pretty much done for and so was the series regardless of Tatum.
Yeah. He’s talking about the Celtics planning on having Tatum next season obviously.
I can see Dallas looking at him if they are offering Lively or Gafford in a deal for Holiday since Boston needs to replace their center. Lakers would need to offer Rui and Reeves for him not the usual Rob offers of Vincent and kleber that nobody wants.
arc89 , IMO, no way you will you see a player of the value of Lively or Reaves offered for Holiday.
This is a massively negative contract at $35M/yr for 3 years remaining at 35 years old. Holiday would likely help LA and Dallas this year, but it’s just too risky in years 2 and 3.
Celtics will need to sweeten this deal to move Holiday. Gafford would make sense for the Celtics because he has an expiring contract, but Dallas has no cap space for Holliday if they want to extend Kyrie.
It’s not massively negative.. that would imply that he has little to offer on the court. That isn’t the case.
If the Cs are okay dealing with their west coast rivals, I think Rui, Gabe Vincent & Knecht is probably a deal that helps both sides… elevates the Lakers contention chances, and gives the Cs the long term cap relief they want and 3 rotation players.
> It’s not massively negative.. that would imply that
> he has little to offer on the court.
No, that’s not the definition of a “negative contract”. A negative contract means that the player’s market value is less than the value of his contract.
No NBA team would sign a 35 year old Jrue Holiday to a 3 year deal for $105M at this point.
As for your proposed Lakers trade, which would return ~$33M in salary to the Celtics, the premise of the article is that the Celtics want less, not matching, salary in return. Assuming the Lakers can aggregate, Vincent and Hachimura, that deal might work. But I doubt you’d see the Lakers offering Knecht. I also don’t think you’d see the Lakers roll the dice on 3 years of 35 year old Holliday for $105M.
Yeah, I did consider that maybe Shake rounds it out rather than Knecht.
And Ari, I was just responding to *your* words, “massively negative” not just negative.
And part of the idea of payroll relief is to take on expiring contracts in exchange for long term obligations.
With Kyrie injury and age he would not be somebody you want to extend. being that he will be 34 and coming off a torn ACL and a year off. Look how Thompson was never the same. Kyrie quickness will be not as quick anymore. Gafford and somebody like Thompson would make it work. Without reeves than it would be Rui and Vanderbilt.
arc89 , Klay had both ACL and Achilles injuries. Big difference over just an ACL.
The Mavs are committed to Kyrie. Nico Harrison said on April 22, well after Kyrie’s injury, that he intended to offer Kyrie a 3 year deal. A primary reason in trading for AD was how well he paired with Kyrie.
Holliday is a great 2 way player, but Dallas wouldn’t have enough offense without Kyrie.
Its a wait and see on Kyrie. The injury is different with each player and age is a big factor. If they rush him back like some article suggesting Jan 2026 could have a impact on another inury. You over compensate when one is injured which gives stress on teh other side.
> Its a wait and see on Kyrie. The injury is different
> with each player and age is a big factor.
If it’s a “wait and see”, Nico isn’t being truthful, but let’s look at that scenario.
TL;DR : you can’t pay both Holliday and Kyrie for more than 1 year without paying the $400M effective payroll (including luxury tax) that broke GSW and BOS.
Trading for Holliday has to happen this summer, which ties up $35M of cap space for the 2026-26 season.
In 2025-26: 5 players get all the money, the other 10 would be vet minimums. The 5 that get paid: Kyrie ($50M), AD, Flagg, Lively, Holliday. The others — Klay, Christie, Marshall, and Martin — will be dumped.
Estimated payroll for starting 5 in 2026-27:
Kyrie + AD + Jrue + Flagg + Lively = $175M
With Lively’s expected rookie extension in 2027-28, these 5 would make $200M. Effective payroll is above $400M. 2028-29 would be > $100M more.
They may have to pay someone to get off the contract if they really want to just dump all the money and take almost no contracts back.
Makes sense for Wolves. They will settle for Brogdan maybe.
Hey Presti, I’ll
Give you Holiday and Hauser for SGA
Presti slams phone down then unplugged it for the day…
Every team should do that when presti calls, period
Jimmy for Jrue and we dont talk about this anymore
Holiday is still a premier PG. Hasn’t had to really show it on Celtics. Especially with White upping his game. Dallas is the best place for him. There he will earn his pay and some. Plus he can play with Kyrie. And is a great fit n vet for AD and Cooper. PJ and Gafford gets it done. Plus Mavs can even get a pick with it. The 32 pick this year would be nice. Probably find a backup C there.
Al- sounds great… if there wasn’t such a thing as a CBA.
Nico says he intends to offer Kyrie a 3 year deal. There won’t be a discount. Plus, that unexpected 1st pick in the draft costs $14M/yr.
There’s a reason Gafford and PJ are on expiring contracts and haven’t been offered new deals.
Trading PJ and Gafford creates a massive hole in their roster. Their backcourt issue is solved by signing Brogdan or Schroder.
They signed him for this year and next, but that’s not going to happen now. Tough contract to move without picks to go along.
padam, agreed… btw, he was signed for this year and next year AND the year after that. 3 more years for $105M.
Jrue Holliday was the key to the Celtics NBA title! And the Bucks’ title too. Other teams see that he’s a winner and a missing piece and will want him too. Trust in Stevens.
But at his age is he still that guy? He has been worse on 3/D and injuries over the last 3 seasons on a declining aging curve.
> “Trust in Stevens”.
It’s the other 29 GM’s that make this call, not Stevens.
Holiday’s overall solid season last year was qualified by the fact that he did, for the first time really, show some wear toward the end of last year. It’s unclear the role that injuries may have played. I don’t believe BOS will have any real issue moving JH now or at the deadline, but, if he can show he’s healthy early in the year, the return will be better at the deadline. Right now, they’d probably have to take back at least one similarly problematic contract. If he’s playing well, no real contender is going to care that much about the extra two years on his deal.
BOS, if they’re truly looking to cut substantial salary, should use the off season (while there’s at least some cap space around) to focus on the less complicated and higher cost saving move of trading KP (and his 30 mm expiring deal) this summer without taking back much or anything in salary. BKN has over 70 mm in cap space and in salary, and is apparently looking to sell it for draft capital. KP is a guy they can get an asset to take, and then another by flipping him at the deadline, if healthy. With him gone, BOS will have more flexibility with a JH deal (maybe even keep him).