![Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) reacts after making a three-point shot ]against the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at Barclays Center.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_973,y_649,w_3696,h_2079/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/253/01jwkd5kez0aa17a4m08.jpg "Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) reacts after making a three-point shot ]against the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at Barclays Center.")
The Boston Celtics will likely look drastically different once the offseason is over.
Following Jayson Tatum's likely season-ending injury and the looming financial cliff due to a skyrocketing payroll, the Celtics have to make radical changes to their roster this summer. This will likely include trading at least one of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis.
Who gets moved will likely be determined by the trade offers the Celtics get for each player. White will obviously require a massive haul for Boston to consider moving him. A Holiday trade, however, seems significantly more likely.
Holiday has the reputation of an excellent locker room presence, a perfect veteran, and a proven winner. Plenty of teams will want to have a player like that, regardless of his age and contract status.
Enter the Sacramento Kings, who are desperate for more defense and veteran competence. They are also one of the more poorly run organizations in the NBA, making them likely to overpay in a deal.
Celtics Acquire Malik Monk, Jonas Valanciunas from Kings in Projected Jrue Holiday Trade
A potential deal with the Kings could net the Celtics Malik Monk and Jonas Valančiūnas, while saving Boston nearly $3.5 million for next season. The savings only increase in the following years since Holiday is under contract (player option for $37.2 million for the 2027-28 season).
Holiday fits seamlessly in Sacramento next to the more offensively focused trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis.
For the Celtics, they add a high-level shot creator in Monk and more depth at center with Valančiūnas. Monk is coming off a terrific performance that saw him average personal-bests in points (17.2), assists (5.6), and rebounds (3.8), whereas Valančiūnas put up 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in a season split between the Kings and Washington Wizards.
Monk and Valančiūnas can help keep the Celtics' offense afloat in Tatum's absence. They aren't the elite two-way players Boston fans have grown accustomed to seeing at TD Garden, but they are talented rotation-level players, especially Monk, who can still provide an offensive boost when needed.
Which direction general manager Brad Stevens will go will be one of the most fascinating NBA storylines of the offseason.