Losing Jrue Holiday could have major ripple effects for the Boston Celtics.
A six-time All-Defensive Teamer and two-time All-Star, the 34-year-old was a key component of the Celtics' title run in 2024, and represented a massive upgrade over Marcus Smart.
Across 62 healthy contests, Holiday notched averages of 11.1 points on .443/.353/.909 shooting splits — his lowest scoring average since his 2009-10 rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers, when he wasn't yet a full-time starter.
Holiday also notched averages of 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 swipes a night. Beyond counting stats, though, the 6-foot-4 UCLA product was an elite perimeter defender, as recently as last year. He finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting during his first Boston season, 2023-24.
While playing through a mallet finger ailment this season, Holiday regressed on both sides of the hardwood. His issues were hardly the biggest problem for Boston's title defense this year, but the $32.4 million owed Holiday in 2025-26 is looking exorbitantly prohibitive — especially since the Celtics seem unlikely to contend for a title while six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum recuperates from his Achilles tendon tear.
Kurt Helin of NBC Sports notes that, thanks to Holiday's value around the league, the Celtics would likely need to give up draft equity to get off his money.
"The Celtics will likely have to attach draft compensation to Holiday to get a team to take up that much money, something Jake Fischer discussed at The Stein Line," Helin writes. "If we’re talking first-round pick, the Celtics would have to move this year’s pick (No. 28), or the 2026 or 2027 picks, because beyond that they are tied up (they could trade a 2030 pick swap). Considering the potential impacts of the Tatum injury on next season, no way they should trade the 2026 pick.
Shedding salaries of talented players to reduce the Celtics' luxury tax bill could hurt Boston a bit in the short term, but that kind of maneuvering could free up the club as it looks to reconfigure its roster around a healthy Tatum in 2026-27.
