Several veteran point guards will come available on the trade market this summer, with Boston Celtics lead guard Jrue Holiday expected to be among the best of the bunch.
With the NBA Draft less than one month away, teams are evaluating all possible options to bolster their roster ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. While no talks are ongoing at this time, Holiday has reportedly caught the eye of a franchise that should be a Western Conference contender again sooner rather than later.
Jrue Holiday Reportedly Targeted By Mavericks Amid Uncertain Celtics Future
The Dallas Mavericks have a point guard problem. After trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a package built around veteran big man Anthony Davis, the idea was that Kyrie Irving would step in and be the team's lead ball handler. As we know, Irving suffered a torn ACL in late March and is expected to miss at least the start of the 2025-26 season.
With that being the case, longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reports that Holiday is on the short list of options under consideration by the Mavericks, joining Chris Paul and Lonzo Ball. Much like Holiday not being an ideal fit due to his contract, Paul's age and Ball's injury history are more than enough to cause teams to have concerns about bringing them into the fold.
If the Mavericks are as desperate to find a veteran who can navigate the stretch that they will be without the services of Irving, Dallas could be more willing to take on the remainder of Holiday's contract, which is set to pay him $104 million over the next three years.
Moving Holiday over Kristaps Porzingis or Jaylen Brown would make sense, given that the former UCLA Bruins standout will be on the wrong side of 35 years old by the time training camps open. It takes two to tango in trade talks, though, and that contract is something the Celtics will have to deal with regardless of the team they try to do business with.
For more reasons than one, this is shaping up to be an exciting offseason for Boston fans, as at least one major move seems destined to be on the way.