Celtics
Holiday has been rumored to be a trade candidate for the Celtics this offseason as they potentially look to cut payroll.
If there is a Jrue Holiday sweepstakes, a Western Conference playoff hopeful appears to be in the mix for the Celtics guard.
The Kings have Holiday on their list of guards they’re interested in acquiring this offseason, The Stein Line‘s Jake Fischer reported. However, the Celtics have received a better deal on the table for Holiday than the Kings have offered to this point, according to ESPN 1320 Sacramento’s James Ham.
It hasn’t been reported what possible offers the Celtics have received for Holiday to this point. But Boston is confident it can “bring positive value back” in any trade and isn’t “operating to date like a team desperate to shed salary,” according to Fischer.
Entering the offseason, it was believed that the Celtics would be in cost-saving mode. They’re roughly $20 million above the second luxury tax apron, making their payroll for next season $464 million after penalties are accounted for. Their status as a second luxury tax apron team also limits the moves they can make, prohibiting the Celtics from making certain types of trades.
As a result, Holiday has commonly been speculated as a trade candidate for the Celtics this offseason. The 35-year-old guard has a $32.4 million salary for the 2025-26 season and is owed $67.2 million over the next two seasons. He also has a $37.2 million player option for the 2027-28 season, which is the final year of the four-year, $134.4 million extension he signed in 2024.
In terms of making a deal with the Kings, the Celtics can’t ask for Zach LaVine or Domantas Sabonis back in any deal for Holiday due to the second-round rules.
Kings guard DeMar DeRozan has been speculated to be a trade candidate this offseason, and a one-for-one swap involving him and Holiday would work under league rules. DeRozan, 35, averaged 22.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game this past season, shooting 47.7 percent from the field. He also shot 32.8 percent from 3-point range, increasing his 3-point attempts to 3.3 per game.
A straight-up trade involving DeRozan and Holiday would help Boston get to its potential goal of getting under the second apron. DeRozan will make $7.7 million less than Holiday in 2025-26.
If the Celtics are looking for future assets in a trade involving Holiday, the Kings have a handful of things they could offer. Guard Malik Monk, 27, was the runner-up in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2023-24 and could allow the Celtics to get younger in the backcourt. Forward Keegan Murray, 24, and guard Keon Ellis, 25, have also been standouts for Sacramento, but it’s hard to envision it trading younger players for the elder Holiday.
The Kings don’t have a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but have plenty of future picks. They hold eight future first-round selections and possess five second-round picks.
In his second season with the Celtics, Holiday averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game as he shot 44.3 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from deep. Holiday’s points and assists per game were the fewest he’s averaged since his rookie season.
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