Feb 1, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4), guard Jaylen Brown (7), guard Payton Pritchard (11) and guard Derrick White (9) on the court against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images David Butler II-Imagn Images

Blazers Star Throws Shade at Celtics Superstars Following Trade From Boston

Originally posted on Portland Trail Blazers on SI
By Ryan Stano | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Portland Trail Blazers made the decision to trade for Jrue Holiday for the second time. This time, it looks like they will keep him and actually have him play some games.

The last time he was a member of the Blazers, it was for a very brief time. He was quickly rerouted to Boston, where he would go on to win a championship with the Celtics.

Now that he's back with the Trail Blazers, Holiday had some interesting thi ngs to say about Boston and the guys that they have on their team.

Trail Blazers player picks backup as the hardest Celtics player to defend

According to Holiday, the hardest player to defend on the Celtics isn't Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown . He claims that it's backup point guard Payton Pritchard.

It wasn’t Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown who gave Jrue Holiday the most trouble during practice in Boston

Jrue had high praise for his former Celtics teammate, Payton Pritchard pic.twitter.com/jln5C5zU8Z
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) August 20, 2025

"It might be Payton. There's this drill that we have where you gotta to go up against Payton full-court. And he just be going crazy. Speed, handle, low to the ground, so he can body you."

While it seems like most of this is to praise Pritchard and the work that he has done, it is also a slight against Tatum and Brown. Those two are some of the best players in the league.

Pritchard was a backup point guard to Holiday while he was in Boston. If Pritchard was really that good, he would have been the starter, while Holiday would have been the backup point guard to him.

Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday will have Jaylen Brown go after him this season

With a comment like that, Brown is likely going to try to attack Holiday as much as possible. He is going to want to show Holiday that he is a much harder player to defend than Pritchard is.

Heading into next season, Holiday is likely going to start at point guard as Damian Lillard continues to recover from his torn Achilles tendon. Lillard won't return to action until the 2026-27 season.

This past season with the Celtics, Holiday averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He shot 44.3 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.