With the NBA Draft quickly approaching and the Desmond Bane trade kicking the NBA offseason into high gear, the Celtics will need to make some hard decisions in the next few weeks. That likely means parting with one of the key members of their roster.
It’s been beaten to death, but almost every member of the team has been in some type of trade rumor. There’s even speculation that an injured Jayson Tatum could be traded. While that seems far-fetched, no matter what happens, it seems like June 27th will be the date when we find out who remains on the Celtics.
It’s expected that free agency may produce limited movement, as most of the top talent either has player options or are restricted free agents. Teams will likely resort to trades, and with a draft as talented and deep as the 2025 class, should produce plenty of movement. The Celtics are even rumored to be part of the NBA draft day trades.
Most of the Celtics’ pre-draft workouts have targeted NBA-ready shooting guards. The Celtics have Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Payton Pritchard, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and G-League MVP, JD Davison in rotation. If the Celtics do add a guard, the game of musical chairs is likely leaving one of them without a seat.
While some of the younger Celtics, like Scheierman or Davison, could be added in a trade to make it work, the Celtics should be doing whatever they can to hang on to their less expensive contracts. That leaves White and Holiday as primary candidates.
All Signs Point to Jrue Holiday Wearing a Different Uniform Next Season
A simple comparison of last year shows White as the superior player in almost every category except steals, field goal percentage (and that’s pretty even), and free throw percentage. Combine White’s productivity with being younger, cheaper, and on a longer contract, and this becomes a no-brainer from the Celtics' perspective.
White would command significantly more in return, but moving on from White would be a significant shakeup to the roster. While moves need to be made for salary purposes, moving White would indicate a complete punt on the 2025-26 season. Holiday, on the other hand, may not return elite-level talent but should bring back draft capital and bench depth. Keeping White and Brown together next season would keep the Celtics playoff-bound in the Eastern Conference.
Considering the depth the Celtics have at the guard position, the Celtics' intent to find guard depth in the draft based on their workouts, and performance comparisons, Holiday seems like the primary candidate to be moved. All signs point to a hectic start of the NBA offseason, and that means Holiday should be packing his bags before July 1st.