Late in the offseason last year, the Milwaukee Bucks shockingly traded guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-way trade for Damian Lillard. Upon his departure, however, expectations were that Holiday’s Trail Blazers tenure would end before it ever really began. The question was, where was Holiday going to end up? Just a few days later, the NBA world got their answer. On October 1, the Trail Blazers flipped Holiday to Milwaukee’s rival, the Boston Celtics. This season, thanks to Holiday’s contributions all season, the Celtics have reached the 60-win mark for the first time since the 2008-09 season. Additionally, with less than two weeks remaining, the 60-16 Celtics have already clinched the best record in the NBA. Now, all eyes are set on the postseason for Boston.
Recently, Holiday talked about the possibility of facing the team he won his first championship with in the playoffs:
He claims there will be no extra juice or spice if Boston draws Milwaukee in the postseason, where the second-seeded Bucks loom as a potential Eastern Conference finals foe. “I want to beat them,” Holiday told Yahoo Sports, “because I want to win the championship.”
The Milwaukee Bucks have a 47-29 record and currently own the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Key Boston Celtics Player Sends a Message to Former Team
Jrue Holiday’s Impact on the Boston Celtics
The former Bucks guard has provided a huge boost for Boston in every aspect of the game. This season, Holiday is averaging 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds (career-high), and 4.9 assists per game. Additionally, he is shooting 47.9% from the field and a career-high 43.3% from beyond the arc. Earlier in the season, teammate Kristaps Porzingis mentioned Holiday as the Celtics player making the biggest sacrifice this season. However, Holiday responded by saying he’s “not mad at the sacrifices” he has to make:
“Am I? I mean, yeah, based off of where I came from,” started Holiday. “But that was a different team with different needs and what they needed out of me. This team, what they need out of me is for me to be solid. For me to be open to different types of strategies and situations every single game, where I might be guarding a big, or I might be on a small, or a big might be on me; there’s so many different scenarios.
“So, yeah, I appreciate KP saying that. Where, again, I would probably say the bulk of my career, I’ve had the ball quite a bit. But, again, we have a really good team. I’m not mad at my situation. I’m not mad at the sacrifices that I have to make.”
“I appreciate KP saying that… I’m not mad at my situation, I’m not mad at the sacrifices I have to make… everybody makes them.”
Jrue Holiday candidly responds to Kristaps Porzingis saying he sacrifices the most on this Celtics team pic.twitter.com/M42EYLQaP5
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 9, 2024
What’s Next for Jrue Holiday in Boston?
Holiday has a $37.36 million player option for next season. Additionally, he is eligible to sign a contract extension with the team as of April 1. Although nothing has come to fruition yet, Holiday has made it clear he wants to stay in Boston:
“I’d like to be here,” Holiday told MassLive. “I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable, loving the guys, loving the organization and loving the city.”
The 34-year-old has been a good fit for the Celtics this year. For both sides, a long-term commitment would make sense in hopes of winning a championship.
