Report: Celtics interested in trading for Jrue Holiday

The New Orleans Pelicans have made it clear they are open to trading Jrue Holiday, and the Boston Celtics reportedly hope to bundle their trio of first-round draft picks to acquire him, though it sounds like it might take a bit of work.

According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, Boston hopes to use its three first-round picks (Nos. 14, 26 and 30) to grab a lottery pick, which it would then ship to New Orleans in exchange for Holiday. So far, the Celtics have not gotten much traction on this plan, but if they are able to pull it off, it would put them in a much better position to trade for Holiday.

Of course, a pick alone would not be enough to acquire Holiday. The C's would also need to match salaries to make the trade work. Gordon Hayward would be the most obvious candidate. The rebuilding Pelicans would be able to let Hayward enter free agency after the upcoming season. 

The Celtics are not the only team interested in Holiday. ESPN's Zach Lowe said that the Atlanta Hawks "might try nabbing Holiday using their No. 6 pick — which they would be open to trading for veteran help." But similarly, the pick alone would likely not get a deal done, so they would probably need to include Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter or Kevin Huerter to sweeten the deal.

Several other teams have also been linked to Holiday, with The Athletic's Shams Charania reporting that "several contending teams" are interested in trading for him.