Shams: Jrue Holiday Traded to Blazers For Simons & Two Second Rounders

[tazzmaniac]

I know it had to happen but sad to see Jrue go.  He's a class act and my favorite player on the team. 

I can't see Simons sticking around.  He's not a championship caliber player but Celts won't be competing for a championship next season.  Hopefully he looks good stat padding and he can be moved for some value by the trade deadline. 

[slightly biased bias fan]

The team is still 15.2 million over the second apron, that is even before any free agents are signed.

If you get under the second cap, how will the team compete long term after removing so much talent.

I am fascinated how this offseason will eventuate for the Celtics.

[Who]

I keep thinking back to the CJ McCollum trade when Portland traded him to New Orleans. They only got a 1st round pick and two 2nds for McCollum.

McCollum just finished his 10th straight season averaging 20+ppg. He was on 6 en route to 7th straight year when Portland traded him.

Similar player to A Simons. I expect they have similar trade value. Just not many takers out there ... or I should say, not many teams willing to give up value for an undersized SG (combo guard who struggles at PG) who doesn't play defense.

I don't A Simons has much trade value in terms of moving him on somewhere else.

[Smartacus]

Until he is re-flipped I welcome Anfernee Simons to Boston and wish Jrue Holiday the best for his time here. Jrue has publicly stated his respect for the Blazers Organization and how they handled his Milwaukee trade. You?d hope Jrue signed off on this and is comfortable moving his family to the Pacific Northwest. He?s got another great veteran in Jerami Grant and young talent they hope he can help mold.

For the Celtics, I really like the return. Simons could have been one of those players who fell out after losing Dame and CJ but he didn?t. While he didn?t rise much either, he found a way to perform on an overachieving young Portland squad who punched above their weight class with Simons, Deni Advija, and Jermaine Grant. With all the uncertainty going into next year, Simons is as close to a known commodity as you can expect for a team that needs to retool without bottoming out.

Great start, excited to see what Brad has cooked up next.

[KG Living Legend]

I don't understand the trade at all for Portland. They would have been better off letting A Simons' contract expire and leave on a free next summer than take on 2 additional years of Jrue's contract.

 Blazers apparently are pushing the chips in this year, hoping the stretch run last year was not a fluke.

 Also worth noting is Brad has become good trading partners with Cronin Blazers GM.

 He paid up for holiday. Brogdon plus Timelord,  plus two firsts.

 This seems like a Let me help you out now Brad for helping me set up the Blazers with a good team.

 No.was two 2nd rounders should be coming back to Boston. 

[celticinorlando]

Shocked this happened so fast. Did not think they would be able to move him at all let alone so easily with that contract. 

Will miss Jrue. But his scoring was way down in Boston. He was fantastic when called on. He is a true winner.

Simons is an upgrade scoring. Can shoot the 3 well. Plays little to no defense. Will be interesting how he fits.

Thank God Brad did not deal with the Clippers. 

Now that this one has been made I guess more moves are coming. I hope Davison is cut loose. Would love to see Walsh traded. He is a bum.

Obviously KP is the next one to watch. Don't think JB is going anywhere.

[Celtics4ever]

Would love to see Walsh traded. He is a bum.

Dude, has a talent to get in every picture though, JK

[ChillyWilly]

Shocked this happened so fast. Did not think they would be able to move him at all let alone so easily with that contract. 

Will miss Jrue. But his scoring was way down in Boston. He was fantastic when called on. He is a true winner.

Simons is an upgrade scoring. Can shoot the 3 well. Plays little to no defense. Will be interesting how he fits.

Thank God Brad did not deal with the Clippers. 

Now that this one has been made I guess more moves are coming. I hope Davison is cut loose. Would love to see Walsh traded. He is a bum.

Obviously KP is the next one to watch. Don't think JB is going anywhere.

We need cheap young players to eat up roster spots and you want to move them because they are "bums". We're a second apron team for a reason.

[A Future of Stevens]

I liked the trade when I thought we gave up 2 future seconds...

Brad is a good GM. I can't wait to see what other moves he makes.

[jambr380]

First off, I wish Jrue the best of luck moving forward. He was nothing but a class act here in Boston and he helped bring the Celtics a championship.

That being said, this is a pretty great deal for the Celtics. We get off of Jrue's long term money, he makes $5M less, he is 9 years younger, he's actually good, and we get a couple of 2nd rounders back to help with future deals.

I predicted that we would keep making trades where we shave off a few million in each deal to get to a lower and lower number. Imo, this is the first of those deals. Getting off the long term money is key here since I think it opens up a lot more avenues for us moving forward.

It also gives us the nuclear option of waiving and stretching Simons, which would save around $23M off of Jrue's salary for 25-26. That basically gets us under the apron. I do not think we do that, not with Simons who is actually a viable and valuable player, but who knows what other deals will be made.

In the meantime, welcome to Boston Anfernee!

[Redz]

Siegel says Pelicans and Warriors are interested in Porzingis

Interesting

Think we can pry Zion from them? 

KP would actually make a ton of sense next to Zion. Floor stretching big to open up the lanes for Zion.

Jaylen Brown for Zion Williamson (+ added value) works.

2026 starting line-up:       Pritchard - White - Tatum - Zion - Porzingis


Naturally Zion is a big gamble. However Brown (9 years of heavy NBA (reg.+playoffs) load + knee surgery) is a bigger risk than most people realize as well.

(Brown is the only option that works salarywise, besides Tatum of course)

The only guy less reliable than KP is Zion. 

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Wow, did not see this one coming.  The question is why does Portland want Holiday?  I think the reason is that Holiday has more value than Simons.  Not necessarily to Portland, but Holiday has more trade value than Simons overall.  The Celtics were so hamstrung due to the second apron that it was hard for them to trade Holiday.  Portland will have a lot more flexibility to make something work.  We'll see.

As to Simons, maybe for the Celtics, it is easier to move an expiring contract for something.  I don't know.  I have been saying all along that I think BOS is targeting 2026-27 to get back on track for salaries.  Or maybe there is a team that will be more willing to take on Simons in a salary dump trade.

I think this will work out for Portland.  I expect them to flip Holiday for some decent value.  More value than they could have gotten in a straight trade for Simons.  For BOS, this seems more about 2026 than 2025.

That's not been the rumors seen. Simons doesn't have Bane value, but he's been wanted by a number of teams.

The Blazers just wanted a championship vet to go with their young guys, not more picks and low-level role players like the Grizzles got.

[celticinorlando]

Shocked this happened so fast. Did not think they would be able to move him at all let alone so easily with that contract. 

Will miss Jrue. But his scoring was way down in Boston. He was fantastic when called on. He is a true winner.

Simons is an upgrade scoring. Can shoot the 3 well. Plays little to no defense. Will be interesting how he fits.

Thank God Brad did not deal with the Clippers. 

Now that this one has been made I guess more moves are coming. I hope Davison is cut loose. Would love to see Walsh traded. He is a bum.

Obviously KP is the next one to watch. Don't think JB is going anywhere.

We need cheap young players to eat up roster spots and you want to move them because they are "bums". We're a second apron team for a reason.

He has been with the team what 3 seasons and has yet to really improve. You think he is a rotational player for the Celtics? I don't.

[Roy H.]

Shocked this happened so fast. Did not think they would be able to move him at all let alone so easily with that contract. 

Will miss Jrue. But his scoring was way down in Boston. He was fantastic when called on. He is a true winner.

Simons is an upgrade scoring. Can shoot the 3 well. Plays little to no defense. Will be interesting how he fits.

Thank God Brad did not deal with the Clippers. 

Now that this one has been made I guess more moves are coming. I hope Davison is cut loose. Would love to see Walsh traded. He is a bum.

Obviously KP is the next one to watch. Don't think JB is going anywhere.

We need cheap young players to eat up roster spots and you want to move them because they are "bums". We're a second apron team for a reason.

He has been with the team what 3 seasons and has yet to really improve. You think he is a rotational player for the Celtics? I don't.

I like Walsh as a cheerleader.  He seems to work hard and to be a good guy.  And, he shares a March 3 birthday with my daughter (and Tatum) so that's a plus.  But, he struggles.  He just lacks a little fluidity out there; it's like he's thinking about what to do, rather than doing things instinctively.

I get both of your points.  We need cheap roster fodder, but ideally, that roster fodder could play a little bit in a pinch, particularly if we're going to be carrying two rookies this year.

[celticinorlando]

Shocked this happened so fast. Did not think they would be able to move him at all let alone so easily with that contract. 

Will miss Jrue. But his scoring was way down in Boston. He was fantastic when called on. He is a true winner.

Simons is an upgrade scoring. Can shoot the 3 well. Plays little to no defense. Will be interesting how he fits.

Thank God Brad did not deal with the Clippers. 

Now that this one has been made I guess more moves are coming. I hope Davison is cut loose. Would love to see Walsh traded. He is a bum.

Obviously KP is the next one to watch. Don't think JB is going anywhere.

We need cheap young players to eat up roster spots and you want to move them because they are "bums". We're a second apron team for a reason.

He has been with the team what 3 seasons and has yet to really improve. You think he is a rotational player for the Celtics? I don't.

I like Walsh as a cheerleader.  He seems to work hard and to be a good guy.  But, he struggles.  He just lacks a little fluidity out there; it's like he's thinking about what to do, rather than doing things instinctively.

I get both of your points.  We need cheap roster fodder, but ideally, that roster fodder could play a little bit in a pinch, particularly if we're going to be carrying two rookies this year.

Bench is going to be extremely green with Baylor, the 2 picks from this draft and Walsh. I expect Hauser will be moved. Very concerned that this group just doesn't give them much they can count on other than PP.