The Trail Blazers sent Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and two first-round picks to the Celtics in exchange for Jrue Holiday.
For a brief period of time in the 2023 offseason, Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics played for the Portland Trail Blazers. The Milwaukee Bucks traded the defensive-minded guard to Portland as part of a three-team trade that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee. According to Holiday, who spoke with Jay King of The Athletic, Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the Trail Blazers, gave the 33-year-old’s well-being top priority following an upsetting event in his NBA career.
“It meant a lot,” expressed the two-time All-Star. “Being able to see a coach that has my best interests (in mind). And it was visible and audible, something that perhaps some players don’t often get to witness from a coach. So he definitely had my best interest (at heart) from the beginning. And he just always looked out for me.”
Billups, who spent 17 seasons as an NBA player, told the media that he understood what it meant to be “blindsided” by Holiday’s trade. “It was a little tough spot for him, getting traded,” Billups said. “Kind of being blindsided by that. I’ve been there. So just being able to talk with him like that because I know him. And it was for important for me that a good person like him, who’s been great on every team and every community, for him to be treated properly.”
In the 2023–24 regular season, Holiday has made 57 appearances. In his first season with the Celtics, he is averaging 12.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three.
Further Reading
‘Always Ready’: Celtics Second Unit Shines in Portland
