Jrue Holiday traded to Boston as Portland continues to move

Jrue Holiday has only been out of the Eastern Conference for a few days, and now it’s the Boston Celtics’ turn who are hoping the Olympic gold medalist and NBA champion can help bring them another title banner. Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday moves the ball up the court. during the first half of Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Miami Heat on April 22, 2023, in Miami. Holiday is being traded to the Boston Celtics, a person with knowledge of the deal said Sunday, a move that comes just four days after he was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in the deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Bucks. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Jrue Holiday has only been out of the Eastern Conference for a few days, and now it’s the Boston Celtics’ turn who are hoping the Olympic gold medalist and NBA champion can help bring them another title banner.

The Celtics finalized a deal with Portland on Sunday to land Holiday, who Milwaukee sent to the Trail Blazers last week in a trade that sent seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard to the Bucks. Boston gave up two key pieces – point guard Malcolm Brogdon, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year, and forward Robert Williams – and Portland acquired two future first-round picks. The Blazers will receive Golden State’s 2024 first-round pick (top-4 protected) and Boston’s 2029 first-round pick.

We are excited to see Jrue in a Celtics uniform,” said Celtics President Brad Stevens. “He plays with a great competitive streak and his impact on and off the court has been felt everywhere throughout his career.”

Holiday takes over the starting point guard position in Boston that was held in recent seasons by Marcus Smart, who was sent to Memphis in the offseason as part of a three-team trade (including Washington) that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Celtics.

Smart is a tough defender. And the same goes for holidays. He is a five-time All-Defensive Team selection – a first-team member of the team last season – who has appeared in Defensive Player of the Year voting the past three years, all with the Bucks. Holiday, 33, became an All-Star last year for the first time in a decade (he was an All-Star with Philadelphia in 2012-13) and is coming off a season in which he averaged 19. 3 points and 7.4 assists. , are both better than his career averages of 16.4 points and 6.5 assists.

By flipping Holiday for Brogdon, Williams and other draft capitals, it means the Trail Blazers have now turned Lillard into a four-player (with Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara also included as part of the deal). deal on Wednesday), three first-round picks and two trades of picks. It’s been a bumper crop for Lillard, who was officially welcomed to Milwaukee by his new team on Saturday.Williams averaged 7.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 209 games with the Celtics. Brogdon – who is expected to be mentioned in trade talks elsewhere, with Portland retooling in the wake of Lillard’s move – will average 14.9 points, 4, 2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in a year on 44% 3-point shooting.