Deal or No Deal: Jrue Holiday

Should the Celtics keep Holiday?

Welcome back to the Deal or No Deal series where we break down if the Celtics should bring back a certain player for the 2025-26 NBA season. If a player is under “Deal” then the player should not be brought back. If “No Deal” then the player should be brought back.

The next player in this series is Jrue Holiday. After the 2024 season where he made an All-Defense team and shot 43% from three, the 2025 season saw a decline for Holiday. In 62 games, he averaged 11.1 PPG, 4.3 REB, and 3.9 AST on 44% shooting from the field, 35% from three and 91% from the free throw line.

Similar to Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, Holiday missed time with a couple of nagging injuries that affected his play. In December, he missed time with left knee tendinopathy and a right shoulder impingement, in February, he had right hand mallet finger that had him wear a cast on his pinky, and in the playoffs, he suffered a right hamstring strain that slowed him down.

Holiday has voiced that he wants to stay in Boston, saying in his end of season press conference, “I still want to be a part (of this team).” When asked his thoughts on potential roster moves from the Celtics, Holiday replied with, “Yeah, I think we still have a really, really great opportunity. And a great window to be successful and win a championship again…the opportunity to win is now, and I still want to be a part of that.”

With the Celtics expected to shed salary this offseason with second apron penalties looming, Holiday has come up as a name that is almost guaranteed to be on the move. In the last week alone, we have heard the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Clippers are all interested in a potential deal.

According to Mark Stein of The Stein Line, the Mavericks are exploring whether there is a feasible pathway to pull off a Jrue Holiday trade even with his contract. If Dallas wanted to make a move for Holiday, they would most likely have to give up Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, and Oliver-Maxence Prosper just to make the money work.

According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Kings are looking for a true point guard and with a new GM, they have interest in Holiday even if it’s possible or not. If Sacramento was to make a trade, the deal would most likely center around Malik Monk, Jonas Valanciunas, and most likely a draft pick. Although Monk was the Sixth Man of the Year runner up in 2024, I don’t think this move is the best Brad Stevens and the Celtics can do. Another possible move is a one-for-one trade that swaps Holiday for DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan is on the final year of his contract and the trade will save the Celtics $7.7 million.

According to Brian Robb of MassLive, the Clippers were one of the teams the Celtics outbid for Holiday in the 2023 offseason and are expected to be in on him again. Robb mentions Bogdan Bogdanovic being the main salary that the Celtics would receive in return alongside center Drew Eubanks and another low-cost player like Jordan Miller or Cam Christie.

My personal idea for a Holiday to the Clippers trade also includes Bogdanovic to Boston but they could also receive Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn who both have one more deal left on their current contracts. Boston could then flip Jones Jr. to another team to gain more assets.

Verdict: Deal

In a perfect world, Jrue Holiday would be a member of the Boston Celtics for the rest of his career, but with their current financial situation, it just doesn’t seem likely. Holiday still holds a lot weight when it comes to a potential trade around the league, not only for his play on the court, but also being the great teammate and veteran presence. Out of everyone on the Celtics roster, Holiday could be the one to get the biggest return this offseason.