While it isn't the focus of Joe Mazzulla or any of the players on the Boston Celtics' roster at this point in time as their only concern is repeating as NBA champions, the front office has to always have an eye on the future and that is something the brain trust in Boston could not ignore if they tried given how expensive their rosters could be over the next few seasons.
With a roster projected to cost the franchise over $500 million for the 2025-26 season, the brain trust for the Celtics has to keep an eye on the future, as well as there will undoubtedly be some attempts to lower the impact felt by the league's tax bill. As things stand, Boston will be staring at the largest tax bill in league history if it tries to run things back next season with the same faces.
Obviously, anything can happen between now and the offseason, but one veteran starter reminded Brad Stevens and the rest of the Celtics front office just how valuable he is to this team's success during their Game 1 victory over the Orlando Magic. Jrue Holiday served as the lightning rod for the second-half performance that ultimately took Boston from trailing at the half to cruising to the finish line with a 103-86 victory.
“We just knew, going into the third, we needed some energy,” Al Horford told Jay King of The Athletic when discussing what lifted the defending champions in Game 1. “And Jrue took over. He lifted us. Offensively and defensively, he totally changed the game.”
“He’s a winner,” Horford said. “He knows how to play. And when he has those kind of plays, that just gets us going. It puts us in a different place.”
Having that type of winner on your roster pays dividends come playoff time, and Holiday came up clutch when Boston needed him the most. The former UCLA Bruins standout fed off the energy of the crowd in TD Garden and went on to give the fans credit for helping motivate him and his teammates in the win.
“It’s playoff basketball,” Holiday told King, “so you can feel the energy in the arena. You can feel it in the air. You can feel it in the team. And it’s just one of those feelings, like, ‘We’re here.’”
If his performance on the hardwood, coupled with the compliments from his peers, wasn't enough, the head coach of the Celtics took it upon himself to make it clear just how important he feels Holiday is to this team's success, especially once the stakes are raised come the postseason.
“He’s an innate competitor,” Joe Mazzulla said, per The Athletic. “And sometimes he takes a back seat because of the type of guys that we have. I thought tonight, he put the team on his back from that passion and emotion standpoint. And that’s why Jrue Holiday is Jrue Holiday. So we’re lucky to have him. We’re going to need that every single night. But we do feed off his physicality and his presence.”
If Holiday continues to play like this for Boston as the Celtics make a push for another Larry O'Brien Trophy, then the front office will have to realize that his presence as a leader on the floor and in the locker room is impossible to put a dollar amount on.