Former Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving will be sidelined for a good chunk of the 2025-26 season because of a torn ACL. Irving tore the ligament in February, so while he should make a return during the season, that may not happen until a few months of it have gone by.
Because the Dallas Mavericks will enter the season with Anthony Davis and presumably Cooper Flagg, they will compete for the playoffs, but they will need someone who can hold down the backcourt until Irving returns.
One player on the Celtics who could help them in that regard is Jrue Holiday. Holiday is certainly not the same player as Irving, but he could fit the part as someone who could fill in for him and, better yet, be a good complement when Irving returns.
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday
© Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The Athletic's Jay King revealed that Holiday will have a trade market while explaining why the Mavericks would be the best destination for him.
"There will be a market for (Holiday)," King wrote. "Among other teams, the Mavericks could make a lot of sense...His team could use an extra ballhandler while Kyrie Irving recovers from a torn ACL and a defensive-minded backcourt presence to play alongside Irving once he returns."
While the Celtics and Mavericks have the contracts to make it work, the Celtics would only trade Holiday if it saved them a fair amount of money. If Boston and Dallas had trade discussions involving Holiday, a third team would likely get involved because Dallas doesn't have the cap flexibility to help Boston save money.