Jrue Holiday's chapter in the Boston Celtics story looked like it was over when he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on June 23rd. A haul of Anfernee Simons and two future second-round picks wasn't much, but it was a fine ending to close the book. But it turns out that ending is still being re-written, and it's not a happy one for fans in Boston.
Instead of what fans thought was a haul that included a young guard and draft capital, a last-minute change was made to the trade, which impacted exactly what the Celtics were able to receive in exchange for the veteran point guard.
Boston Celtics Lose Assets in Last-Minute Jrue Holiday Trade Change
According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, an issue with Holiday's medical records which came to light following the agreement on the trade has forced a change to the return the Celtics received. Rather than adding Simons and the two second-round draft picks to the fold, the trade will now be a straight swap of Holiday and Simons.
Fentress' source reports that Holiday's medical records "revealed nothing substantial enough to warrant the trade being negated. However, there was enough there to lead the Blazers to alter the terms of the deal slightly."
Regardless of whether you are a fan of Simons' game or not, losing the draft capital attached to this trade makes it even more of a salary dump for Boston than it already was. The likelihood that Simons, a career volume shooter, is part of the Celtics' long-term plans is slim. Barring some major changes in his style of play, he does not make sense as a big-money contract on the books alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Holiday had to be moved one way or another, and there is no doubt that the money remaining on his contract impacted exactly how much Boston was going to be able to receive as a return, but losing a key piece to a championship run in a salary dump is a tough pill to swallow.
Unfortunately, that is exactly what Celtics fans have to do following this news.