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The Celtics’ teardown of their 2024 title team has officially begun.
A day after the Thunder replaced Boston as the reigning NBA champions, the team traded defensive specialist Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks. The news was first reported by ESPN.
The trade comes two years after the Celtics acquired Holiday from the Blazers for two first-round picks: Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogden.
By trading Holiday, the Celtics took the first step in avoiding a roughly $500 million payroll next season, including luxury taxes.
Holiday, 35, is entering the second year of a four-year, $134 million extension he signed with the Celtics in 2024 that will pay $32 million next season and ends with a $37 million player option for the 2027–28 season. Considered one of the best defenders in the NBA, Holiday helped the Celtics win the 2024 Finals with his play against Mavericks star Luka Dončić. But he was going to be an expensive role player for the team as he gets older. Meanwhile, the team’s luxury tax penalties to retain him would hamper the ability to build around Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the coming seasons. Tatum will likely miss all of next season after tearing his Achilles against the Knicks in the playoffs.
The deal saves Boston roughly $40 million in luxury taxes for next season as it gets the $72 million guaranteed to Holiday off its books. But it’s still $18 million over the dreaded second apron, which is why the team is exploring trades for center Kristaps Porzingis, who’s owed $30 million in the final year of his contract next year. Trading Porzingis could get the Celtics out of the second apron entirely. Sharpshooter Sam Hauser, who is about to start a four-year, $45 million extension, is another trade candidate.
Simons made roughly $26 million for the 2024–25 season and is owed $27.7 million next season before becoming a free agent next summer. Just 26, he fits the Celtics timeline with Tatum (27) and Brown (28) better than Holiday. He’s extension eligible this summer for a three-year deal worth $105 million. But the team could wait until Simons starts playing for the Celtics before signing him to a new deal. The Celtics could be out of luxury tax entirely in two seasons based on the roster’s current construction and letting Simons’ deal expire before re-signing him helps keep it that way.
Holiday is being traded before the NBA Board of Governors is scheduled to approve the sale of the team in July to Bill Chisholm, a Massachusetts native and longtime Celtics fan who’s buying the franchise for $6.1 billion. Chisholm said shortly after the purchase he planned to spend what was needed to keep the Celtics in contention. Despite multiple injuries to fellow Eastern Conference contenders including the Pacers and Bucks, the team decided to tear down its championship team anyway.
“My approach is to win and raise banners,” Chisholm previously told ESPN. “That’s in the near term and the long term. I’ve had a couple of sit-downs with [general manager] Brad [Stevens] and it’s been about aligning our goals, and extending the window of this team. The plans that [governor] Wyc [Grousbeck] and Brad have laid out make perfect sense to me.”
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