On Sunday, October 1st, the Celtics obtained former Milwaukee Bucks All-Star guard Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers. He was traded as part of the deal that sent fellow All-Star Damian Lillard to the Bucks, pairing him with Giannis Antetokounmpo, making the team arguably even more formidable.
Despite having never won Defensive Player of the Year, Holiday is considered one of the best defenders in the league, being an All-Defense selection five times. In fact, in an anonymous survey held by The Athletic last year, NBA players themselves rated Jrue Holiday as the best defensive player in the NBA by a considerable margin.
As an established quality player, Holiday, age 33, will also bring tremendous experience to a relatively young Celtics team. BH basketball player Brady Palladino `26 said: “I am extremely pleased with the Celtics trade for Jrue Holiday. It really hurts to give up Robert Williams because I think he could develop into a top center in the league.” In the short term, Jrue Holiday will be crucial in giving us a strong team for the NBA championship this season, a sentiment that Yamin Ibrahim `27 shares concerning the trade.
However, the trade would see fan-favorite Robert Williams’ departure, which made many fans saddened by the decision. Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon was also traded, but in the grand scheme of the trade, Belmont Hill students such as Jackson Hurd (Form IV) expressed that the positives outweigh the negatives, as Brogdon and Williams have been somewhat injury-prone in the past.
The goal of the Boston Celtics this season, as with many in the past, is “championship or bust,” encapsulated by Brady: “We have too much talent to shoot for anything less.” The reliability of Jrue Holiday with his defensive capabilities and playmaking capacity should overshadow the losses of the young Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon, at least for the near future. Though building a championship team is what the Celtics need to do this year, this trade may not ultimately prove to be beneficial over the long term.
