The Boston Celtics entered the NBA offseason expecting to make changes. Heading toward a historic and unsustainable payroll that projected to exceed $500 million with luxury tax penalties, Boston was certain to make trades. The first one went down on Monday night.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Celtics have traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks.
Simons, a dynamic 26 year old guard, is entering the final year of his contract that will pay him $27.6 million next season. He is coming off a year in which he averaged 19.3 points in 70 games.
While this move was a big one, the Celtics are seemingly not done. Charania followed his initial report by stating Boston remains involved in trade discussions surrounding multiple key contributors.
"An extremely active offseason begins for the Celtics with the trade of Jrue Holiday, who played a critical role in Boston's 2024 NBA championship," he wrote. "The Celtics remain engaged in trade talks surrounding multiple key players on the roster, sources said."
With the Celtics having several prominent players on their roster, fans were quick to speculate who could be on the move. Just minutes later, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported Boston has been in active talks around the league about moving Kristaps Porzingis as well.
"Boston has actively been talking with several teams around the league about moving Kristaps Porzingis," Siegel wrote in response to Charania's post.
Porzingis is coming off a postseason hindered by an illness that had him playing at well-below 100% healthy. When available and operating at his fullest, the Latvian big man is among the league's most useful players.
For his career, Porzingis owns averages of 19.6 points and 7.8 rebounds while knocking down 36.6% of his 3-point attempts.
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