In a surprising offseason twist, the Portland Trail Blazers have acquired Jrue Holiday (again). This time, they traded with the team they initially sent him to, the Boston Celtics. In return, Portland will send over Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
Many have wondered what general manager Joe Cronin's plans are for Holiday and whether he'll remain a Blazer or be included in yet another package. But this time around, reports indicate that it will be the former.
"This time, they're trading for Jrue with the intention of keeping him," Blazers insider Sean Highkin said on X.
The Blazers weren't ready for a win-now move
We all knew that a Simons deal was a possibility this summer, given his expiring contract and Scoot Henderson's improved second season. But the fact that Simons wasn't traded for an up-and-coming piece and/or draft capital to fit Portland's rebuilding timeline was shocking. That's why many questioned where the Blazers were headed with this deal.
In theory, the point of trading Simons is that Henderson can start. It now looks like Scoot's time will have to wait as Holiday is under contract for three more years. That brings up the obvious downsides of this deal. In a vacuum, Holiday is a better overall player and fit for Portland than Simons. However, Holiday is 35 years old, owed $97.2 million over the next three seasons, and his production declined in Boston.
This past year, he averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals on 44/35/91 shooting splits. We all know Holiday is a more impactful player than his stats indicate, with his elite perimeter defense, but it does point out a flaw in this trade. He's not the missing star that Portland still needs to push itself into contention.
At best, this deal means that the Blazers could hover around a seven or eight seed in a loaded Western Conference. Holiday likely won't be in the NBA when Portland's young core is collectively entering its prime, making this a shortsighted and impatient trade.
Yes, there's an understated importance in the Blazers' youth gaining playoff experience. Yes, Holiday will be a valuable mentor for Henderson and a leader in general for one of the NBA's youngest rosters. But his age and contract make it evident that Holiday is a player a contending team trades for as a piece to help put them over the top.
Someone like the Mavericks would have made perfect sense from that standpoint. Instead, the Blazers are making a win-now move to jump from one rebuilding tier to the next.