Report: Lakers eyeing move for another former Celtics star

The Los Angeles Lakers may not be done collecting Boston Celtics alums just yet.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday is a name to monitor as a potential target for the Lakers, Grant Afseth of Fastbreak Journal reported on Monday. Afseth adds that the Lakers are widely viewed as a natural fit if the Blazers do explore the possibility of moving Holiday.

The 35-year-old Holiday was just acquired by the Blazers from the Boston Celtics this month as part of a swap for fellow guard Anfernee Simons. A six-time All-Defensive selection who recently made an All-Star team in 2023, Holiday is still owed $97 million over the next two seasons (with a $37.2 million player option for 2027-28 too).

We know that Holiday was deeply unhappy about being traded to the rebuilding Blazers. Meanwhile, the Lakers recently made a surprise move for another former Celtics standout earlier this week as well.

Though they are low on assets at this point, the Lakers can still cobble together a useful package featuring some combination of Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura, one first-round pick in either 2030 or 2031, and salary filler. That said, the Lakers might be better off using those tools to trade for a bigger forward at this point, especially after the departure of Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency.

It is also possible that the Blazers could stretch-and-waive Holiday, allowing him to pick his next destination on the buyout market (especially given recent precedent with the Damian Lillard-Bucks and Bradley Beal-Suns situations earlier this summer). But those situations involved teams largely desperate for cap relief, and the Blazers do not quite fall into that category.

All things considered, Portland sending Holiday to the Lakers is probably a longshot, particularly since the teams have not made a one-on-one trade with one another since way back in 1980. But the greater takeaway here is that the Lakers are still not done actively searching for improvements to their roster by any means possible.