The last-minute trade for Jrue Holiday ahead of training camp upended some of the preparations that Celtics players had made for the coming season, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
As Windhorst writes, Derrick White had spent time with assistant coach Sam Cassell in Colorado this summer getting ready to become Boston’s new starting point guard, but Holiday figures to take on that role now.
Meanwhile, Kristaps Porzingis had spent a couple of weeks before training camp getting to know Robert Williams and assessing how the two big men might play together. Porzingis will no longer get the opportunity to play with Williams, who was sent to Portland as part of the package for Holiday.
“I already could see how Rob is that charismatic guy for this group,” Porzingis said on Monday. “So it definitely hurts for this organization that he’s not here anymore.”
Still, the Celtics’ players, coaches, and executives alike are excited to get the opportunity to add Holiday, who is one of the league’s most highly regarded teammates and defenders.
“There’s a list of guys in the league that you always think you’ve never had a real chance to get that you think are perfect fits,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said on Monday, per Windhorst. “And Jrue is one of those guys.”
More must-reads: