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Celtics Exec Gets ‘Brutally Honest’ On Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis Trades

Originally posted on Hoops Wire | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 5:16 PM ET

The Boston Celtics made two huge trades this NBA offseason, sending Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks.

Since Jayson Tatum is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season recovering from his right Achilles tear, it made no sense for the Celtics to have the most expensive payroll in the NBA.

“Still figuring it all out. As you’ve noted, we’re still above the second apron,” a Celtics front office executive told NBA reporter Keith Smith of Spotrac. “We won’t finish there. It sucked to trade Jrue and KP because we loved those guys and they loved Boston.

“But it was being brutally honest that we aren’t the same level of team without Jayson. We’ll be good. We’ll be a playoff team, but…you know. It’ll come for every team that lands where we did. You can’t be over the second apron and not a title contender. It’s just poor management for both the short- and long-term. The frozen pick and pick dropping stuff is real.”

Holiday will make $32.4 million next season, while Porzingis will make $30.7 million in the final year of his contract. That’s over $62 million the Celtics saved by trading the two NBA champions.

Boston won the 2024 title against the Dallas Mavericks in five games. The team was projected to repeat last season, but Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon in Game of the conference semifinals against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Celtics lost to the Knicks in six games. They acquired Anfernee Simons from the Trail Blazers and Georges Niang from the Hawks. Both players could be traded before next season begins, multiple NBA sources told Hoops Wire.