ESPN's Shams Charania reports that the Portland Trail Blazers have traded Anfernee Simons and two future second-round picks to the Boston Celtics for Jrue Holiday.
Of course, Holiday also plays the same position as Scoot Henderson, while being nine years older and making even more money than Simons over a much longer period. In short, it’s a perplexing move for several reasons.
The cons outweigh the pros for Portland
As of the time of writing, Jrue is staying put with the Blazers, and it’s a puzzling bit of basketball lore, especially if you’re a Portland fan. The very idea of trading Simons was based solely around the idea that dealing him would give Henderson a clear path to the starting lineup. Simons and Henderson play the same position—though their playstyles are antipode—and glimpses into Scoot’s potential as a complete NBA player materialized when Simons was on the bench.
This trade doesn’t immediately pave the way for Henderson to start; the Blazers are now older, more expensive, and beholden to three years of Holiday as opposed to just one more year of Simons. Plus, the Blazers gave up second-round draft picks in the deal. Second-rounders are more symbolic at this point as the NCAA’s NIL deals have gutted the NBA’s second round, but it’s draft compensation all the same.
The upsides of this trade are slim but they are present if you squint your eyes; Holiday is an excellent Scoot mentor, even though the tuition is costly. And even though he took a sharp dropoff in his first season as a Celtic, he’s still a top-tier defender, something GM Joe Cronin has emphasized as of late.
Unlike Simons, Holiday won’t be a net negative when it comes to facilitation; the Celtics didn’t really utilize him in a distributor role. He’s just two seasons removed from averaging 7.5 assists per game and one season removed from being voted to the NBA’s All-Defensive 2nd Team.
With all things considered, it was clear that Simons needed to be moved, but it’s a little murkier when one considers the roster implications and cap impact. If Holiday is moved at some point, this could be a win for the Blazers. But the true vision remains to be seen, if it ever will.
GRADE: D+