Trail Blazers Trade for Two-Time NBA Champion
It was recently reported by Shams Charania that the Boston Celtics have traded two-time NBA champion Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks. Portland reacquires Holiday, who was originally traded to the Blazers during the Damian Lillard trade in 2023, but was later moved to Boston in a trade that included two first-round picks. While the two-time NBA champion was critical to the success of the Celtics’ 2024 NBA Championship, Boston now comes into this critical off-season with the intention of winning it all once again. Charania also reported that the Celtics are still engaged in trade talks about the league.
This past season, Holiday played and started in 62 games for Boston. He averaged about 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal in 31 minutes of action each night. During the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the two-time NBA champion’s numbers decreased, but not by much, as he still averaged almost the same stat line. For Simons he played in 70 games this past season. The 26-year-old averaged roughly 19 points, three rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Simons recorded nine 30-point games this past season. With Jayson Tatum likely out for all of the 2025-2026 NBA season, the Celtics absolutely can use Simons’ offensive abilities.
The Trail Blazers have the 11th pick in the draft, and although they may not draft the best prospect, they have a roster full of young talent. Holiday would be an excellent mentor to the once-promising and star prospect Scoot Henderson, who hasn’t been able to live up to all the hype he had, just yet. Deni Avdija and Deandre Ayton have also been on the verge of taking their game to the next level, as flashes of potential have been shown all throughout this past season. For Portland, this trade gives them a great leader in the two-time NBA champion and more draft assets to continue building towards the future. Boston looks to capitalize on Tatum’s injury and make themselves a contender once again, even with all the doubts of their best player being out.
