{"id":36194,"date":"2025-07-31T05:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T05:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/36194\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T05:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T05:51:09","slug":"jrue-holiday-shares-his-thoughts-after-getting-traded-from-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/36194\/","title":{"rendered":"Jrue Holiday shares his thoughts after getting traded from Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCeltics\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t“That\u2019s why you want to come here and you want to play because you feel like you\u2019re a part of something that\u2019s bigger than yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tJrue Holiday was traded by the Celtics in late June. (AP Photo\/Michael Dwyer, File)\t<\/p>\n

Jrue Holiday\u2019s tenure with the Trail Blazers has come full circle \u2026 in a way.<\/p>\n

Holiday\u2019s trade from Boston to Portland last month<\/a> marks the second time that the two-time NBA champion has landed with the Blazers.<\/p>\n

Granted, his first stint with the Trail Blazers only lasted a few days \u2014 as he was flipped from Milwaukee to Portland in September 2023 before the Celtics acquired him as part of a blockbuster move that solidified the franchise\u2019s 18th title.<\/p>\n

This time around, the 35-year-old guard expects to be staying put with Portland to help elevate a young roster on the rise. Speaking for the first time since his trade from Boston, Holiday elaborated on some of the emotions drawn out of last month\u2019s trade and his two-year run with the Celtics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at home in California,\u201d Holiday told reporters in Portland on Tuesday.<\/a> \u201cI ended up getting a call from Brad [Stevens] and he ended up telling me a little bit before. But I was excited. I knew that obviously I got traded here before. So it was just kind of full circle. Talking to [Portland coach] Chauncey [Billups] about it. Talking to [Portland GM] Joe [Cronin] about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I really do appreciate what they did for me the first time around. That really does mean a lot for me in my career. So I know this time around, just talking to them, they\u2019re just kind of like, I got another chance to get you and they thought that I\u2019d be a good piece here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though Holiday is not necessarily expected to be the final piece needed for Portland to assert themselves as contenders \u2014 much as he was in Boston \u2014 the defensive stalwart believes that the Trail Blazers can take a major step forward in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

Not only did Portland\u2019s young core end last season on a high note with a winning record over the last two months, but their roster should receive another lift in 2026-27 when Blazers great Damian Lillard \u2014 who re-signed with Portland in free agency \u2014 is expected to rejoin the team after recovering from a torn Achilles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in the game long enough to know that it\u2019s not always going to be the brightest or the best or the easiest, whatever you want to say,\u201d Holiday said. \u201cBut I think coming into a team and organization that has the character of this team and organization makes basketball great. That\u2019s why you want to come here and you want to play because you feel like you\u2019re a part of something that\u2019s bigger than yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holiday\u2019s departure from Boston felt all but inevitable this offseason, given the four-year, $135 contract extension that he signed in April 2024<\/a> and Boston\u2019s need to cut payroll this summer in order to get under the NBA\u2019s restrictive second apron.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, Brad Stevens noted earlier this month that the Celtics\u2019 cost-cutting measures \u2014 while expected \u2014 stung all the same for a team that was seemingly in the midst of a sustained contention window just a few months ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJrue Holiday is \u2014 I think he stamped his Hall-of-Fame candidacy here, if he didn\u2019t already have it,\u201d Stevens said<\/a>. \u201cAnd we\u2019ll look forward to watching and rooting and following him from afar. But he\u2019s as good of a person as you could ever have in your building and as part of your team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually talked to both those guys a couple weeks before and just said, \u2018Listen, there\u2019s a chance that you\u2019re back, but there\u2019s also a high chance that you\u2019re not,\u2019\u201d Stevens added of his conversations with Holiday and another traded Celtic in Kristaps Porzingis. \u201cAnd the agents have done a good job of understanding the challenges of the new CBA and the second aprons, and it was really important for us to get us out of that penalty box in a lot of ways, because you can feel those, and those are real things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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