Stevens explains how the Celtics are well prepared for the holiday trade
Stevens provided some interesting insight into the holiday trade during Celtics Media Day.
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Brad Stevens talks to Eddie House, Marc D’Amico and Amanda Pflugrad about the trade slump for Jrue Holiday
The Boston Celtics made a big splash in the NBA trade market this weekend by acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers.
The price to pay to get it is very high. The Celtics sent Blazers point guard Malcolm Brogdon, center Robert Williams III, the Golden State Warriors’ 2024 first-round pick (top-four protected) and an unprotected 2029 first-rounder. Vacation became available because the Milwaukee Bucks traded him to the Blazers as part of the acquisition package for superstar point guard Damian Lillard. The Blazers, as a rebuilding team, are unlikely to keep Holiday, 33, for long.
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Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told NBC Sports Boston during Celtics Media Day on Monday that his team has prepared for the possibility of Holiday being available based on the work she has done in recent years. last week and month.
“I’ve known (Blazers general manager) Joe Cronin for a long time. We’ve spoken many times over the past few years and had very transparent conversations about what we think about each other’s teams and the members who are how.” , Stevens said, as seen in the video player above.
“As the question becomes more about where Dame can go, I think you start to think about who ends up going to Portland and who they can’t keep on their team. When you start doing the Money math around the tournament, you can limit it to 10-15 people. We had these discussions in case something happened. We don’t know how it will turn out.”
Stevens had long been a fan of Holiday and wanted him to come to Boston when he was the head coach.
“I’ve been trying to get Jrue Holiday to come to the Celtics since I’ve been coach,” Stevens said. “I know I’ll go into Danny (Ainge’s) office every year and say, ‘Hey, can we somehow get a Jrue Holiday?’
“So when (the Lillard trade) happened, the whole front office came out and said, ‘Is there any way we can get Jrue Holiday here?’ And then we started working. And it’s difficult because there are a lot of good teams with good assets and good players. You can have it, but you can’t have it. »
The Celtics finally got him, and now they have arguably the best starting five in the league with Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis.
Holiday is an elite defender, but he also averaged 19.3 points per game and shot 38.4 percent from 3-point range last season. His two-way ability on the field and high-minded personality would make him a great fit in Boston.
See more information about NBC Sports Boston’s Media Day here or watch on YouTube below.
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