Because the Boston Celtics want to get below the NBA's second tax apron, multiple players are expected to be involved in trade rumors this offseason. That includes Jrue Holiday.
Holiday has been mentioned in trade rumors since the Celtics' playoff run ended. That includes reports linking him to the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. On Wednesday, MassLive's Brian Robb reported that the Los Angeles Clippers are interested in him.
The Clippers are trying to win a title just like the Celtics are, so adding Holiday would make sense, as he's a two-time NBA champion. However, the notion that the Clippers' interest in Holiday might not be so legitimate after all.
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday
© Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The Athletic's Law Murray revealed some new intel regarding the Clippers' interest in Holiday on "The Garden Report" while talking with CLNS Media's Bobby Manning.
"This isn't something that it sounds like would come from the Clippers side of things," Murray said.
Teams have used this strategy in the past: revealing which teams are interested in certain players can either drive up the price of one of their players or, alternatively, drive down the price to give up said player.
As good as Holiday is, his contract gets more expensive with each passing year. Next season, he will make $32.4 million. The season after that, he will make $34.8 million. In the final season, for which he has a player option, he will make $37.2 million.
Teams may not want to pay that, so they may want additional assets on top of him in a trade. Leaking that other interested teams could stop Boston from having to give up draft assets.