The Boston Celtics are reportedly in on trying to trade for New Orleans Pelicans veteran guard Jrue Holiday, according to the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
The 30-year-old point and shooting guard is among the NBA’s best defenders and a solid source of offense Boston could use in a variety of ways, particularly in the postseason and to help keep All-Star point guard Kemba Walker as fresh as possible for the postseason.
“The Celtics have emerged as a potential destination for Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday,” tweeted O’Connor. “Boston could package its three firsts (14, 26, and 30) to move into the lottery and flip the pick to New Orleans.”
Sources: The Celtics have emerged as a potential destination for Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday. Boston could package its three firsts (14, 26, and 30) to move into the lottery and flip the pick to New Orleans. More details and rumors in my latest mock draft: https://t.co/MWGF6RSakS
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 12, 2020
In the mock draft update he mentioned later in the tweet, the Ringer analyst goes further into the Holiday rumbles.
“The Celtics have offered up their three first-round picks (nos. 14, 26, and 30) in trades to try and move into the lottery, but multiple league sources say they intend to reroute that pick to the Pelicans in exchange for Jrue Holiday. If Boston is able to acquire the necessary assets, it’d still need to add salaries to make a deal work. Could that mean Gordon Hayward or Kemba Walker could be on the move?”
“No matter the case, the Celtics are up to something big to try and bolster their title odds,” he continued.
Celtics to meet with sharpshooting forward Aaron Nesmith later this week https://t.co/Axn7Ipbci5
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 11, 2020
It’s also possible to cobble a deal together involving Marcus Smart and Enes Kanter plus salary ballast to get in range.
But, such a deal seems unlikely given it’d require one of the Williams bigs (Rob or Grant) or Romeo Langford — or more draft assets to move players teams will likely view at best as projects.
This would ultimately be a negligible improvement in our estimation, and dealing Walker would mostly be a lateral move at best as well save anything health-related.
Nova’s Saddiq Bey mum on meeting with Boston, but fits like a glove https://t.co/QCcWgxxXHT
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 12, 2020
So, we’re guessing this move is contingent on Hayward opting in, and getting moved — either to New Orleans, where it wouldn’t be the worst fit, or a third team.
There’s a whole container ship’s worth of “ifs” involved here, so don’t go making plans to buy a Holiday Celtics jersey.
Just in case however, we will be monitoring these rumbles closely in the coming week or so.
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