Jrue Holiday is reportedly "pissed" that he was recently traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports. "He does not want to go there," Bulpett's source said.
We recently wrote about how the Blazers surprisingly traded the Celtics for Holiday with the intention of keeping him around this time. Many had wondered if that would be the case, as it's clear the 35-year-old guard doesn't align with the rebuilding Blazers' timeline.
Could Jrue Holiday's frustration reopen trade talks?
Despite the poor timeline fit, the trade does make some sense in other aspects. Portland finally picked Scoot Henderson over Anfernee Simons, giving Scoot an increased role as soon as next season due to having a less ball-dominant Holiday. There's also now a clear path for Henderson to start in the coming seasons, with Holiday under contract for three more years (as opposed to Portland extending Simons to a long-term deal).
And Holiday is a much better fit for what the Blazers are trying to accomplish in terms of their defensive identity under Chauncey Billups. Portland got rid of its biggest defensive liability and upgraded to a premier perimeter defender capable of guarding multiple positions.
That said, this latest development with Holiday at least has to reopen the possibility of him being rerouted (again).
"Now, if he winds up staying there, I'm sure he'll be the professional he's always been and make a positive contribution. But he's not happy with this deal. I'll be surprised if Portland doesn't move him on if they can because right now, he does not want to go there," according to a source cited by Bulpett.
Holiday has a reputation for being one of the league's best teammates. If he remains in Portland to start the 2025-26 season, there's no reason to assume that wouldn't be the case. He'd also provide Scoot Henderson with another valuable mentor besides Billups. But it could be a long and awkward summer between now and that point with this latest update.
As Bulpett notes, Holiday's contract complicates things if the Blazers do try to find a landing spot where he'd be happier. But it's not impossible. Holiday is still an impactful two-way guard who seemingly had a few other teams interested in him before the Blazers unexpectedly stepped in.
The question is, of those teams interested in Holiday, which are actual contenders or landing spots he'd be content going to?
For instance, the fact that he's pissed about going to Portland should rule out Sacramento -- another team that expressed interest. Perhaps the Mavericks would make sense for all involved parties? That is if Portland even wants to entertain potential trades for someone they initially planned on keeping.
This is going to be something to monitor throughout the offseason. The Blazers solved their Anfernee Simons problem but may have created another, more complex one in the process.