Bucks apparently never even spoke to Jrue Holiday to inform him of Blazers trade
Professional sports can be a cold business at times it seems, but the latest bit to come out about the blockbuster trade that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks was pretty rough to hear. Jrue Holiday, a centerpiece of the deal, close friend of Giannis Antetokounmpo and fan-favorite during his three seasons with the team, didn’t just get sent out of town. It seems the team didn’t even speak to the guard to let him know.
In a post shared by Holiday’s wife, Lauren, on Instagram, she explained that her husband was taking a nap on Wednesday, the day of the trade. When he woke up, that was the first he heard of the trade. As Lauren stated, there was “no warning, no heads up, not even a conversation that it could be a possibility.”
Here’s the full statement, which NBA on ESPN posted:
That’s tough to hear, especially considering Holiday told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel less than two weeks ago that he wanted to sign a contract extension and stay with the Bucks, calling himself “a Buck for life.”
“Would love to [sign an extension],” he said. “Before I even won here I think I said I’m a Buck for life and I mean that like deep in my heart. I don’t want to play for any other team. I think we have a chance to continue to do great things as the Bucks team and organization so I want to be in Milwaukee.”
To make matters even more difficult (at the time), Holiday was almost immediately traded again from the Bucks to the Boston Celtics. For what it’s worth, Holiday should be an integral player in the Celtics’ pursuit of a championship and teams up with two budding stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Over three seasons with the Bucks, Holiday averaged a career-best 18.5 points, 6.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and had his best stretch shooting the ball of his career. In 193 games, Holiday shot a career-best 49.4 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three-point range, which is also a high-water mark for him.
Although the news was surely tough to swallow, there's no question that Holiday is in position to play for a great organization and should absolutely have a shot to compete for another title. With the Bucks and Celtics finishing first and second in the Eastern Conference last year and just one game apart in their regular-season records, don't be surprised if fans get treated to Holiday facing his old team with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line as early as this coming season.
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