It's already become apparent that Jrue Holiday is the perfect fit for this up-and-coming Portland Trail Blazers roster. The 35-year-old veteran is proving he still has plenty left in the tank, making Portland's surprising decision to acquire him from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Anfernee Simons a clear win for the franchise.
Holiday is known for his elite perimeter defense, but has been making his two-way impact felt for a Blazers team that was in dire need of a floor general, especially following the hamstring tear suffered by Scoot Henderson. He's coming off consecutive 20-plus scoring outings against both Los Angeles teams in back-to-back nights. Through four games, Holiday is now averaging 15.7 points, 8.3 assists, and 5.7 rebounds on 42/32/78 shooting splits.
That's an incredibly promising start as Holiday continues to crush the narrative surrounding his declining play following an injury-plagued season in Boston.
The Blazers won the Jrue Holiday-Anfernee Simons swap
Simons had the best assist-to-turnover ratio on Portland's roster last season, leaving many to wonder how this young Blazers team would address their lack of playmaking, which was previously a weakness with Simons even in the picture. But it's clear that the answer to that question is Holiday. He's arguably an even better playmaking option for the Blazers because of his calming veteran presence and unselfishness, consistently setting the table for the likes of Jerami Grant, Deni Avdija, and Shaedon Sharpe.
While Holiday is no longer the premier defender he once was, he's still a significant upgrade from Simons on that end of the court. That defensive upgrade in the backcourt has already gone a long way in helping Portland establish its identity. Largely thanks to Holiday, the Blazers are no longer an easy out. All four games this season have been extremely competitive despite their demanding Western Conference schedule.
Meanwhile, Simons' time in Boston has been underwhelming. He's averaged 11.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 44/29/67 shooting splits. Part of that can be attributed to the Celtics not fully utilizing his offensive skillset -- but that's precisely the issue.
Simons was great in Portland because they gave him the freedom to be the best offensive version of himself as a combo guard with a high usage rate. At the same time, your ceiling as a team is significantly limited if Simons is one of your best players. That raises the question of whether Simons can scale down his role for a contender, and if not, whether his next contract will be worth the investment.
Say what you will about Holiday's contract, but the Celtics are going to be facing a difficult situation with Simons' contract set to expire this offseason. It wouldn't be surprising if they flipped him before the deadline in order to proactively avoid this situation, but I'm skeptical they'll find a player who is better than Holiday because of these limitations.
Holiday has won at the highest level in both the Olympics and the NBA. He's someone who can effectively scale his role depending on what is required of him. With the Blazers, they're asking him to step up as a playmaker, and he's doing just that.
Portland received criticism when this trade initially went down because of Holiday's contract and his poor fit with their rebuilding timeline. But, a few games in, it's already clear that his contract isn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. And most importantly, his fit in Portland is perfect.