When Jrue Holilday fell into the Boston Celtics’ laps as part of the fallout of the Damian Lillard trade, it was a potential championship twist of fortune. Holiday has been incredible for the Celtics, and now that they have him, they don’t have any intention of letting him get away.
The Celtics and Holiday have agreed on a new deal, the team announced Thursday. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the four-year, $135 million extension will commence next season. Holiday is reportedly declining the $37.3M player option he had in place for the 2024-25 season to secure this long-term deal. This deal comes at a lower average annual salary and thus saves the Celtics some tax money as they endeavor to keep what has become a supremely expensive roster together.
Holiday remains arguably the best perimeter defender in the league (Jalen Suggs is starting to make a case) and he has shot the lights out from 3 this season for the Celtics, who are operating with premium offensive spacing with the additions of Holiday, who is shooting 43% from deep, and Kristaps Porzingis, who is able to stretch the floor to 30 feet as a five man.
“In addition to being one of the more accomplished players in the league, Jrue is an elite teammate and competitor,” Brad Stevens, Celtics President of Basketball Operations, said in a statement. “He is simply a person who raises everyone’s level around him. He combines an unselfishness to do whatever is best for the team with an edge to take on any challenge at any time. We are grateful that Jrue is a Celitc.”
Holiday has started in all 68 games with the Celtics this season and is averaging 12.5 points, a career-high 5.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 32.9 minutes per game.
Boston has secured the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs, meaning they will enjoy home-court advantage for as long as they remain alive. Some consider them the favorite to win it all. They are certainly one of the top two contenders along with Denver, and again, Holiday is a major part of that. Not only has he been a boon for Boston, but his absence in Milwaukee has considerably weakened the defense of a chief rival in the Bucks, who just haven’t looked like a championship team this season.
For Boston, this is a significant commitment to a guy who will be 37 in the final year of this contract (2028). According to ESPN, Holiday is only the fourth player in league history to sign a guaranteed deal of at least $100 million at age 33 or older, joining LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Al Horford.
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