Bold Trade Proposal Sends Jrue Holiday to Sacramento Kings

To put it simply, Holiday is a proven winner. He plays the right way, competes on both ends of the court, can score, pass, and grab rebounds, and is still someone you can throw on the opponents lead guard and ask him to do his best to shut them down.

There's no denying that Holiday would be a great addition for the Kings and fit new Head Coach Doug Christie's system and scheme perfectly, but getting him to Sacramento is an incredibly tricky job to pull off.

Holiday is set to make $32.4 million next season, $34.8 million in the following year, and has a $37.2 million player option for the 2027-28 season. That's a lot of money for a player who's about to turn 35.

But Holiday has proven durable throughout his long NBA career, with 62 games played last season, and 69, 67, and 67 games the previous three. He doesn't suit up for every single game, but in the new NBA landscape where 65 games is the qualifying mark, Holiday has shown he can be at the mark consistently.

There's no guarantee that will continue as Holiday gets older, but it is a good sign when looking at the money that would be on the books.

With all of that in mind, let's take a look at a deal that could potentially bring over the defensive minded guard.

Sacramento Kings Receive: Jrue Holiday

Boston Celtics Receive: DeMar DeRozan, Devin Carter

For starters, finding a deal that works money-wise, as previously mentioned, is already difficult as the Kings don't have a lot of options when it comes to medium-sized contracts. They have mostly high-money players like Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine, or smaller scale deals like Keegan Murray and Jonas Valančiūnas.

Even Malik Monk's $18.8 million for next year makes it hard to bring in a large salary like Holiday.

That leaves the option of DeMar DeRozan, who at $24.7 million next season is enough to get the deal done in a one-for-one swap.

The fit of DeRozan on the Celtics is questionable at best, as the Celtics have led the league in three-point attempts the last two seasons and were second just three years ago. They, more so than any other team in the league, have fully leaned into the three-point-heavy offense.

Bringing in DeRozan, who is known for his mid-range game, would make it difficult for them to continue to lead the league in shots from deep. But if they are looking to diversify their offense, DeRozan would do just that.

He would also be a good candidate to replace Jayson Tatum while Tatum recovers from his torn achilles.

DeRozan isn't the MVP candidate that Tatum is, but he does have the all-important skill of being able to go out and get a bucket when needed, something Tatum did on repeat in Boston.

While DeRozan would be the main money and short-term replacement option going to the Celtics, the Kings could include Devin Carter as the piece to sweeten the pot and outbid other teams. Carter has been compared to Derrick White, and what better way to lean into that comparison than pairing the two players together?

Sending out a 23-year-old player who is under team control for the foreseeable future is risky in any move under any circumstance, but doing so for a 35-year-old is even more or a risk.

But Carter was Monte McNair's pick, and there's no guarantee that Scott Perry feels the obligation to move forward with him on the roster. If he wants to make a move to set a culture and build an identity, Holiday is the perfect player to do so, but it could come at an extremely high cost and risk.