John Jones-Imagn Images

Jayson Tatum Sends Parting Message to Jrue Holiday After Celtics Trade

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Spencer Ostrow | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 11:58 AM ET

The Boston Celtics won an NBA title in 2024, going 68-14 in the regular season and looking like the clear best team in the league.

However, this year was a complete turnaround for them. They were eliminated in the second round of the 2025 playoffs and lost star Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles tendon, which will possibly force him to miss all of next season.

As Boston looked ahead to the 2026 NBA season, big changes were needed, not just because of their second-round playoff exit. The Celtics were projected to have a record payroll of around $500 million, including luxury tax.

They were almost forced to offload some key contributors and that's exactly what they did on Tuesday, sending point guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers and center Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks.

On Wednesday, Tatum took to social media to share a parting message with Holiday.

"2 Gold medals and a championship!" Tatum wrote to Holiday. "Forever grateful to have been your teammate. Great player and better person. My dawg for life ."

Tatum couldn't forget about his "big fella." He also sent Porzingis a message.

"Big fella!" Tatum said to Porzingis. "Never a doubt what you meant to this city and this team! thankful for you always champ! ."

Ironically, Holiday was acquired by the Celtics in a trade with Portland in 2023. However, the 6-foot-4 guard never played for the Trail Blazers, as he was traded twice that offseason after coming over from the Milwaukee Bucks.

As for Porzingis, he was also traded in 2023, coming to Boston from the Washington Wizards.

If speculations are to be believed, the Celtics aren’t done making moves. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that although Boston prefers not to trade Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, teams are still making offers for them, and Boston is listening to them.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: