Report: Celtics have emerged as potential trade destination for Jrue Holiday originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday is perhaps the most popular name in trade rumors leading up to next week's 2020 NBA Draft, and one team that reportedly has interest in acquiring him is the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics are the only team in the upcoming draft with three picks in the first round, and according to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer, they are looking at ways to trade these selections in an attempt to facilitate a deal for Holliday.
"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," O'Connor wrote in his latest mock draft.
"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."
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Holiday is 30 years old and has a salary cap hit of $26,261,111 for the 2020-21 season, per Spotrac. He has a player option in his contract worth $26,285,000 for 2021-22.
The veteran guard is a very good player at both ends of the court. He averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 61 games for the New Orleans Pelicans last season. Holiday also was an All-Defensive first team selection in 2017-18 and an All-Defensive second team pick in 2018-19.
One of the concerns with Holiday is his durability. He's spent the last seven years with the Pelicans and has played more than 70 games in a single season just once over that span.
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That said, if the Celtics want to make a major move for a star player, Holiday is one of the best options among the players rumored to be available. He's certainly a better fit than Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook.
The Celtics aren't the only potential trade destination for Holiday. Far from it, actually. One of the other potential suitors is the Atlanta Hawks, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.
