Earlier this month, after the Celtics' championship defense came to a crash-and-burn halt with a six-game loss to the Knicks in the conference semifinals, team honcho Brad Stevens addressed the obvious: Boston will need to make changes.
Not just changes on the floor. But changes on the payroll, where the largesse the team showed after winning the 2024 championship is set to boomerang on them with a salary payout that could reach $500 million thanks to NBA luxury tax rules.
"We talk big picture branches and long-term all the time. But then, at the end of each season, you glean a little more clarity from the season that just happened and what happened during it, right?" Stevens told reporters.
"I like to give everybody a few days to take a deep breath, because you don't want to make decisions that are rash or emotional. And we've got a lot to sift through and sort out and think about, and we'll do that. There'll be a lot of us in the room. And we'll take the time over the next couple of weeks to do that."
Feb 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.
Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
No matter the opinions of those voices, the cold reality is that the Celtics must break up the roster to reduce payroll. And while moving Kristaps Porzingis' expiring contract is on the docket, the team probably needs to go a step further. And the best asset the Celtics could move is 34-year-old guard Jrue Holiday.
Despite his age and salary (Holiday has $104.4 million left over the next three years), there is plenty of respect for Holiday's ability as a defender and a leader. According to MassLive's Brian Robb, Holiday is not only expected to have trade interest around the league, but one team in particular could quickly rise to the top.
That would be the L.A. Clippers, who have long valued Holiday's rugged style on a team that lacks grit. The Clippers were in the trade mix for Holiday when he was dealt by Milwaukee two years ago.
Wrote Robb: "A league source tells MassLive that the Los Angeles Clippers are one team expected to show interest in the 34-year-old guard this offseason."
Robb even laid out a framework of a deal, which might not excite many Boston fans.
He wrote: "The Clippers have reserve guard Bogdan Bogdanovic ($16 million) as a potential salary matching option in a swap. Bogdanovic combined with center Drew Eubanks ($4.75 million) and one other low-cost player (Jordan Miller? Cam Christie?) would be enough outgoing salary for the Clippers to send out to absorb Holiday’s salary ($32.4 million) and satisfy CBA trade matching rules."
Indeed, on a talent level, the Celtics would come up short. But trading Holiday is not about talent--it's about wriggling free from future luxury-tax penalties. Possibly sending him to the Clippers would accomplish that.