Ironically, Holiday was briefly a Trail Blazer after his part in their deal with Milwaukee for Damian Lillard in 2023 before the Celtics acquired him less than a week later. Boston was lifting another trophy within the year, in no small part due to Holiday’s stout defense and unselfish team play.

Injured Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum will miss playing with Jrue Holiday in the backcourt and Kristaps Porziņģis helping out around the rim. Tatum sent parting messages to both players following Boston's trades with the Portland Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks.

It was well established entering the off-season that the Boston Celtics badly needed to clear cap space amid the highest payroll in the NBA, and the organization got a jump on doing so with the trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.