The Boston Celtics’ gap year is officially underway.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Monday that the Celtics agreed to trade guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks.
The Celtics will shed some salary with the move. Holiday signed a four-year, $134 million contract with Boston before winning the NBA finals in 2024.
Holiday was a key piece of the Celtics’ championship run. He missed time early in the playoffs, but averaged 9.5 points per game when he was available. He also routinely drew difficult defensive assignments.
Simons is 26 years old and averaged 19.3 points and 4.8 assists per game this season. His 36.3% three-point percentage was a down year for the shooting guard. He shot 42.6% from three in the 2020-21 season. The weakness in his game is on the defensive end, where he struggles at times to guard opponents.
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Simons is in the final year of his contract and carries a cap hit of about $27 million.
The Celtics may not be done, either. The injury to Jayson Tatum presented the team with an opportunity to trade veterans and shed salary to reopen their window when the All-NBA forward returns.
