The Boston Celtics are starting to make moves. All Celtics rumors this offseason have indicated that the team is going to be very active on the NBA trade market, and they’ve made the first of what could be a combination of offseason moves.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Celtics have traded Jrue Holiday for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks.
This Anfernee Simons trade will save the Celtics $40 million in luxury tax payments next season. On top of that, they are getting off an aging (and declining) Holiday while getting back a young talent like Simons.
Losing Holiday and his defense will certainly hurt the Celtics. He was one of the key pieces of their championship run last season. Unfortunately, this season he didn’t look like the same player.
Holiday saw a dip in all counting stats last year, and most importantly, went from being a near 43% shooter from three to a 35.3% shooter this season.
In return for Holiday, the Celtics get a young scoring guard with tons of potential. Simons has already averaged over 20 points per game twice in his still-young career. He is also on an expiring contract that brings the Celtics’ future flexibility.
Although losing Holiday is significant, in a season where they probably won’t be competing for a title, getting a young player like Simons is a homerun.
The Celtics become younger, more athletic, and have the chance to develop a raw scoring talent into a winning player.
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Our Celtic trade grade for this Jrue Holiday-Anfernee Simons trade is an A-. Getting a talent like Simons for what is considered a bad contract on a declining star is huge. On top of that, the Celtics are saving a ton of money and getting two second-round picks. The only way this trade doesn’t go well is if Holiday has more left in the tank than we think and the Celtics really struggle without his defensive presence.
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