What Does Trade Mean For UCLA's Jrue Holiday?

Getting traded is never easy. It’s one thing to be dealt to a contender — and another when you’re a 35-year-old veteran, with plenty of losing years behind you, who can still actively contribute to a winning team.

Former Bruin guard Jrue Holiday was just the first casualty of the Boston Celtics’ plan to retool their roster, traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons.

Boston’s superstar, Jayson Tatum, will miss most, if not all, of next season due to a ruptured Achilles. That forced Boston to shift off autopilot and start clearing some cap.

First up: Holiday, whose $33 million cap hit made him the team’s third-highest paid player. And for the kind of production he was offering the Celtics, it was apparent they needed to move on.

Initially, I wrote that Boston should keep Holiday, since he’s a stabilizing force in the locker room.

But since Boston is adamant about blowing it up — trading him, Kristaps Porzingis, and reportedly fielding offers for Jaylen Brown — moving Holiday was the right call.

He, however, was not thrilled.

In an article written by longtime Celtics reporter Steve Bulpett, Holiday was described as “pissed” about the move. Portland is a long shot to make any serious impact in the stacked Western Conference, and the roster is rebuilding.

Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe are exciting foundational pieces, but Holiday’s clock is ticking. He’s already won two rings. He’ll want at least one more.

You may remember: Holiday was already traded to Portland once before, in the Damian Lillard deal that sent Dame to the Bucks. That stint lasted all of four days before Holiday was flipped to Boston for Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and two first-round picks.

So what does this mean now for Holiday?

It’s too early to say. Round One of the NBA Draft occurred last night, and that’s typically when trade action heats up.

In his report, Bulpett clarified from his source that Holiday isn’t the type of player to pout or mail it in if he doesn’t get his way. No matter what, he’ll show up to work:

“I’m sure if he has to go to Portland, he’ll end up going and it’ll be OK, but right now they want to be somewhere else. But with that contract, it’s not going to be that easy.”

Holiday can still contribute to any team, but with the type of production he had last season, the $33 million is starting to look more like an albatross than a value deal.

It remains to be seen what happens next for the defensive star, but for now, all signs point to Jrue Holiday staying put in Rip City.