Jrue Holiday

Yes, Bob. Don't squeeze the Sharman.

worcester wrote:Yes, Bob. Don't squeeze the Sharman.

You need an online comedy special

Reports coming out now are that Brad and his staff had a list of players whose contracts would likely be included in any Lillard trade for $ matching.  From that list they identified who they'd be interested in if Portland made them available after the trade and who they'd be willing to give up to get them.  That's why they were so quick off the ball in getting Jrue.  They already figured out that if Dame went to Milwaukee, which he did, Jrue or Middleton would have to be included to make the numbers work and they were ready with an offer.

Love the trade or hate the trade, that's good front office work.  Preparation was Brad's hallmark as a coach and we're seeing it now as a GM.


Bob


.

bobheckler wrote:Reports coming out now are that Brad and his staff had a list of players whose contracts would likely be included in any Lillard trade for $ matching.  From that list they identified who they'd be interested in if Portland made them available after the trade and who they'd be willing to give up to get them.  That's why they were so quick off the ball in getting Jrue.  They already figured out that if Dame went to Milwaukee, which he did, Jrue or Middleton would have to be included to make the numbers work and they were ready with an offer.

Love the trade or hate the trade, that's good front office work.  Preparation was Brad's hallmark as a coach and we're seeing it now as a GM.


Bob


.

Bobh,
Brad mentioned this in his interview yesterday(?).

AK

Naturally I hope the Jrue trade works out, but as a fan with no inside knowledge, I don't like it. The Time Lord changes games, makes the D. something ferocious. I know he had a hard time staying on the court, but with Zingis starting, I thought RW would be the best backup center in the game. Brogdan was miffed at being shopped, but he might have been motivated to show fans and management what he can offer. Now we have no backup center other than Luke, who inspires opponents' grins, and Payton as our backup guard. Oh, well, I admit I know little about the roster beyond the starters, and on paper. that 5 seems invincible. On the court..? As Sam, the roundball sage, would say. 'Ask me in April.' Fingers crossed. hawk

Hawk,

Nice to hear from you.

I'll cross some fingers along with you.

Regards

Jrue Holiday's new Celtics jersey number has an interesting history

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/jrue-holidays-celtics-jersey-number-150759160.html

Darren Hartwell
Mon, October 2, 2023 at 11:07 AM EDT

Jrue Holiday's new Celtics jersey number has an interesting history originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jrue Holiday will get a fresh start with the Boston Celtics in more ways than one.

The new Celtics guard, whom the team acquired Sunday in a blockbuster trade that sent Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks to the Portland Trail Blazers, will wear No. 4 in Boston, the team confirmed Monday morning.



It's an interesting choice for the 33-year-old, who wore No. 21 during his three-season tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks and No. 11 over his first 11 NBA seasons split between the Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans.

No. 21 is retired in Boston for Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Sharman, while No. 11 is currently occupied by backup point guard Payton Pritchard. Holiday could have approached Pritchard to ask for No. 11, but it appears he's content with No. 4, which has been worn by some notable Celtics guards over the years.

The most notable guard in recent memory, of course, is Isaiah Thomas, who blossomed into an All-Star and Boston fan favorite while rocking the green No. 4 from 2015 to 2017. The number has cycled through five Celtics backups since then: Marcus Thornton, Carsen Edwards, Kelan Martin, Juwann Morgan and Noah Vonleh, the most recent C's player to wear No. 4 before he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in January 2023.

Here's a list of other notable Celtics to wear No. 4 over the years:

Sherman Douglas (1992)

David Wesley (1995 to 1997)

Chauncey Billups (1998)

Tony Battie (2000 to 2004)

Nate Robinson (2010 to 2011)

Jason Terry (2013)

Isaiah Thomas (2015 to 2017)

Holiday has a chance to fill Thomas' shoes and then some: The two-time All-Star and five-team NBA All-Defense selection averaged 19.3 points and 7.4 assists per game for the Bucks last season and brings a championship pedigree after winning a championship in Milwaukee in 2021.

If Holiday can help the Celtics raise Banner 18 next June, he can leave his own lasting legacy in No. 4.

Jrue's press introduction after his first practice.  Most of the time these press intros are the same.  "Great to be here", "great organization", "looking forward to (fill_in_the_blank)".  With this one we got a little more insight into management's thinking, Wyc and Pags shared more, and Brad positively GUSHED about Jrue's practice.   As we all know Brad is not given to fountains of emotional ism.  Today one of the reporters mentioned how much he was smiling,  and Brad explained why.  They shared a comment by Paul Pierce about the practice.

He


Bob


.

This is looking eerily like 2008 in many ways.  Except this time it's looking like the first Big 4 with Jrue, Porkchop, JT and JB.  You can even add Derrick White and argue this is one of the best starting Five's back to the 80's for Boston and LAL.    

At that time, I don't recall focusing on the bench, of course.  I had never heard of James Posey or Eddie House, P.J. Brown, Tony Allen, Delonte West or Kendrick Perkins nor what they could do.  I don't think anybody cared.  I'm pretty sure that the 2008 bench could lap our current bench.  But both benches were all no names at the time.  Our current bench definitely qualifies for that title.  

Our bench will have to come around and they will.  But I won't get to change my avatar in 2024 unless our current bench defines themselves.  

Jrue has the Celtic humbleness and competitive attitude hands down.  Nice, nice, scary-good pick Brad.  

Again, this is it.  Great news conference.  Different tone.  Wyc used the phrase, "Just getting started."  Nice!!  Great having Paul Pierce around.  He's got to be coming on board someday, somehow.  

The difference between winning and losing is only inches.  Can't wait for this season.  Lots of anticipation.  

db

https://theathletic.com/4931380/2023/10/05/celtics-jrue-holiday-first-practice/?source=freedailyemail&campaign=601983




Jrue Holiday makes great first impression with Celtics: ‘The guy’s unbelievable’


By Jay King
4h ago




BOSTON — The Celtics pumped in crowd noise during parts of practice Wednesday afternoon. As the second day of training camp unfolded, anyone in the team’s practice facility could clearly hear Jumbotron sounds. The same prompts normally issued to the TD Garden crowd were blasted through the speakers: “De-fense! De-fense!” And: “Let’s go Celtics!” The speakers even played organ noises, much like the Celtics players would hear at home games.

It was still a sight, not a sound, that left Al Horford smiling after practice. Sitting just off the court, he shook his head while giving a quick evaluation of new teammate Jrue Holiday’s first practice with the Celtics.

“I am very happy that he’s here,” Horford told The Athletic. “Very happy. That guy’s unbelievable. He was unscreenable today, making timely shots, nobody was getting by him defensively. The guy’s unbelievable.”


Holiday flew to Boston on Sunday shortly after learning the Celtics had agreed to acquire him from the Portland Trail Blazers. He beat Brad Stevens to the practice facility for media day the following morning, but could not participate in official team functions until the Celtics finalized the trade. That kept him off the court Tuesday as the team opened training camp with two practices. It wasn’t until Wednesday, after the whirlwind of being traded twice in one week, that he was able to make his practice debut. Because he hadn’t done much on the court over the previous week – “just because I wasn’t allowed to,” Holiday said – the guard said he felt tired during the action.

Holiday didn’t look that way, according to Horford.

“He’s been sitting out for the last however many days,” Horford said, “and he just comes out here and dominates like that. That’s pretty impressive.”

At a press conference hours after his first practice, Holiday said the Celtics became one of his preferred destinations after the Trail Blazers, who acquired him from Milwaukee in the Damian Lillard trade, decided to flip him to another organization. Holiday said Portland “blessed” him by sending him to Boston. He sounded grateful that Blazers general manager Joe Cronin worked with him throughout the process, communicated with him about what he wanted and ultimately moved him to a team where he could compete for his second NBA championship. The Celtics traded Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks for Holiday.

“A few days ago, before I got traded, it was just kind of like where am I gonna land?” Holiday said. “I had hopes of being here and sometimes you don’t want to get your hopes up, just because you can get your heart broken that way. But once I ended up getting traded here, that’s what I was committed to. Again, a team that’s been close to winning championships, that has those banners up there and has one covered because of how rich this organization is. And winning is really, really important to me. And that’s the reason why I play, is to win.”

The Celtics are optimistic Holiday will help them do just that. Brad Stevens smiled enough at the press conference that a reporter asked Stevens about his unusual level of joy. After making fun of the question’s premise, calling it an overreaction, Stevens did share one moment from the practice that filled him up with satisfaction. The Celtics were running a shell drill, which in most cases is a non-competitive defensive exercise meant to hammer
home basic fundamentals. Even in that setting, Stevens suggested Holiday just about swallowed up assistant coach Phil Pressey while guarding him.

“You know, I’m one of the few people that gets like an amazing joy out of the shell drill,” said Stevens. “And I told Jrue when he went and got into Phil Pressey and almost made him quit coaching when he was guarding him, that made me so happy. So I guess maybe that’s why I’m smiling.”

Holiday has experienced a hectic, emotional stretch. Shortly after he said he would like to retire with the Bucks, the franchise traded him in a package for Lillard. Though Portland was Holiday’s initial destination, the rebuilding Trail Blazers never intended to keep him. He drew serious interest from several teams, including the Heat and Clippers, but the Celtics won the sweepstakes to land him.

“It’s definitely been a whirlwind,” said Holiday. “My family was established there, school and things like that, and we had friends. But it’s also just a part of the business. I feel like coming here is definitely my best chance of winning and being able to help the guys here that have made big moves and done great things in this league. So I’m here to really just help step up that game and become a champion.”

Holiday said the Celtics players and coaches have all embraced him. Joe Mazzulla wasted no time after the trade trying to get Holiday acclimated. The guard said he heard from his new coach “right off the bat” — and Mazzulla didn’t simply reach out to welcome the All-Star into the fold. Shortly after the acquisition, Holiday said Mazzulla started sharing clips of what to do on pick-and-roll coverages and how to run the Boston offense. Holiday said Mazzulla has already explained what the Celtics expect from him.

“If you guys know Joe at all, he’ll be super honest with you, upfront, to the point,” Holiday said. “I love that from him. And from the beginning, he’s told me my role is to do everything. Do everything, be all over the floor defensively, be able to control situations offensively. Situations to calm us down and get good shots toward the end of games. But I think when it comes down to it, it’s about winning. It’s about keeping this culture of winning and Joe’s a part of that and the way he’s communicated with me has been awesome.”

Holiday will need to catch up on the Celtics system. He will need to learn how to fit with his new teammates, including fellow All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Though Holiday did play with Tatum in the 2020 Olympics, winning a gold medal on Team USA, the NBA will present different types of challenges for them.

Those will arrive one day in the future. Wednesday was only the first chance for Holiday to work with his new team. He said he could see the chemistry among the returning Celtics players.

“You could tell that they were hungry and really about the things that maybe didn’t work last year, but making them better this year,” Holiday said. “That’s just from watching. And then going out and actually playing with them, because I’ve played against them for so long, it felt great. It felt great to get out there and compete. We know that our best players are the most competitive ones and they’re kind of leading the charge. JT and JB (Jaylen Brown) were out there after people defensively and I know how it can be, being a two-way player, but I think for us to be a great team, obviously, those two are going to carry us along a lot of the way. But today was good for me.”

The Celtics hope to keep Holiday long-term. He said Stevens communicated that with him from the start. The two sides will likely hold further conversations in February, when Holiday becomes eligible for a contract extension. For now, he’s happy to be in another place where he has a chance to win.

“Ever since I’ve been in the league and before that this has been a championship-caliber organization,” Holiday said. “So this was a very easy decision that this would be one of the places I would have loved to come to. We also lost to you guys in seven games not too long ago. So I think being part of this organization and group is something I really wanted to be a part of.”


Bob
MY NOTE:  I was begging Brad to get us a veteran ball handler/floor general.  Who knew he actually reads my posts here (jk)?  There's talk about the Celtics signing Jrue to a contract extension.  I'm not sure how I feel about 33 year old Jrue Holiday being here for a ton more years at a lot of money but, other than the financial aspects of this which are way above my pay grade, I am a happy man today.  We paid a heavy price for Jrue, we gave up the NBA 6th Man and a defensive game changer as well as 2 first round picks, but damn if he isn't the real deal on both ends.

.

The Truth.





Bob


.

I like having Paul Pierce "around".  A lot.  I don't know what the Celtics have in store for him going forward.  Do they need to formalize it with a job offer or what, I don't know.  Maybe Paul doesn't want to be involved anymore than he currently is, but he's a HUGE asset.  He's not sitting on the sidelines but could he take on something in a bigger capacity?  Sure.  But I like him being around and would like to see more of him.  He needs to be hugged by JT and JB like Russell was hugged by KG after the last game of 2008.  "I got my own!!."  I'll take sooner and several!!

db

Guys like this do not come along very often, they swung for the fences here. How many years were we going to say "woulda, shoulda, coulda"? with Rob. I love the kid, and wish him nothing but the best. Maybe, just maybe, this will be a good move for him too. 35 games last year? I just knew that at some point, they were going to look elsewhere. Holiday is a player we will be thankful for once he gets used to his new teammates and they learn to play together. Sometimes these trades happen, here is hoping we will be celebrating at the end of the season

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Guys like this do not come along very often, they swung for the fences here.  How many years were we going to say "woulda, shoulda, coulda"?  with Rob.  I love the kid, and wish him nothing but the best. Maybe, just maybe, this will be a good move for him too.  35 games last year?  I just knew that at some point, they were going to look elsewhere.  Holiday is a player we will be thankful for once he gets used to his new teammates and they learn to play together.  Sometimes these trades happen, here is hoping we will be celebrating at the end of the season

So in this trade, Rob Williams is Big Al Jefferson and Holiday is KG.

We traded a young player who hasn't reached his full potential (plus other stuff) for a player that could be on a path to the HOF.

I hope history repeats itself!!

So are you telling me you would not have made this trade?? I was against the KG trade and took so much flack from my son!! Naturally I fell in love with what KG brought to Boston, and Al? He had a decent career but ?? My issue is and has been for two years, that Rob just cannot stay on the floor. He has issues that May follow him for his career. If you want to win NOW, you need guys with the status of a Holiday. Do not get me wrong, I loved watching every minute that Rob spent on the floor, but, the time is now. Who knows, maybe he will end up back here, Brad has a way of doing that!!

Rosalie,

I like the trade.

I am just comparing the two trades, with Rob and Al being similar.  They both represented unfulfilled potential and some fans wanted to keep them.

Both trades were for a proven veteran player, so there is the Jrue and KG comparison.

The earlier trade resulted in a championship, that's the history I referenced.

I had mixed views on the Big Al - KG trade. I thought Al was on the way to multiple all star games and didn’t know KG was that great and impactful. I was wishing we could have gotten rid of Perk instead of Big Al. Once the season started, realized how well Perk complimented KG on defense, didn’t know that kind of historic defense was going to be our calling card/identity. Shows how much I know….those guys together owed that paint. Perks sledgehammer defense really complimented KG’s manic intensity, shame that team didn’t get more than one title; we had the talent and chemistry, was still a great run!!

cowens/oldschool wrote:I had mixed views on the Big Al - KG trade. I thought Al was on the way to multiple all star games and didn’t know KG was that great and impactful. I was wishing we could have gotten rid of Perk instead of Big Al. Once the season started, realized how well Perk complimented KG on defense, didn’t know that kind of historic defense was going to be our calling card/identity. Shows how much I know….those guys together owed that paint. Perks sledgehammer defense really complimented KG’s manic intensity, shame that team didn’t get more than one title; we had the talent and chemistry, was still a great run!!

Cow

I had mixed feelings also about trading Big Al. It took me about the first quarter of game 1 of the season to realize KG was special.

If it wasn't for injuries those teams would have won at least 1 and possibly 2 or 3 more titles.

Going to miss Rob and wish him the best, but this was right move.

Ok…..I am ready, let the games begin!!! I am excited for this team,here is hoping that we are just as excited in June as we all are now.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:So are you telling me you would not have made this trade??   I was against the KG trade and took so much flack from my son!!  Naturally I fell in love with what KG brought to Boston, and Al?  He had a decent career but ??  My issue is and has been for two years, that Rob just cannot stay on the floor. He has issues that May follow him for his career.  If you want to win NOW, you need guys with the status of a Holiday.  Do not get me wrong, I loved watching every minute that Rob spent on the floor, but, the time is now.  Who knows, maybe he will end up back here, Brad has a way of doing that!!

I hope you're right! Our track record with big-name, late-prime guards is...not good. Holiday is a special guy, but at his age you start worrying about durability (he's no Rob, but he hasn't played more than 67 games since 18-19 either). I also worry that the trade does strange things to our championship window. (Before the trade, everyone but Al was sort of in the same cohort. Now we've got a couple years to win and then the finances start looking tricky.)

Time will tell. It's definitely a win-now move. I think the way I feel about the trade depends a lot on what we see from Brogdon next year. If he really is irreparably broken, then we gave up Rob + picks for an amazing defensive guard who should give us at least 60 games. If Brogdon approximates (85%) what he did last season, then I guess I think we overpaid.

Playing spoiler to the rest of his suitors though, that's a damned fine thing, at any price.

My opinion is that Rob is not going to be in Portland for the duration. There are many teams out west, i,e. Golden State, LA, who are eyeing him. His potential is so appealing to many teams, And, as I said earlier, Boston is always a chance, Brad has a way of trying to get back the players that he hated giving up to start with. It is just, how healthy will Rob be to make him that appealing to other teams, and, would he want to come back to a team who traded him. On top of that, if he is good and healthy, would we even be able to afford him?

NESportsfan12 wrote:

RosalieTCeltics wrote:So are you telling me you would not have made this trade??   I was against the KG trade and took so much flack from my son!!  Naturally I fell in love with what KG brought to Boston, and Al?  He had a decent career but ??  My issue is and has been for two years, that Rob just cannot stay on the floor. He has issues that May follow him for his career.  If you want to win NOW, you need guys with the status of a Holiday.  Do not get me wrong, I loved watching every minute that Rob spent on the floor, but, the time is now.  Who knows, maybe he will end up back here, Brad has a way of doing that!!

I hope you're right! Our track record with big-name, late-prime guards is...not good. Holiday is a special guy, but at his age you start worrying about durability (he's no Rob, but he hasn't played more than 67 games since 18-19 either). I also worry that the trade does strange things to our championship window. (Before the trade, everyone but Al was sort of in the same cohort. Now we've got a couple years to win and then the finances start looking tricky.)

Time will tell. It's definitely a win-now move. I think the way I feel about the trade depends a lot on what we see from Brogdon next year. If he really is irreparably broken, then we gave up Rob + picks for an amazing defensive guard who should give us at least 60 games. If Brogdon approximates (85%) what he did last season, then I guess I think we overpaid.

Playing spoiler to the rest of his suitors though, that's a damned fine thing, at any price.

Hi NESportsfan,

Haven't seen you here in a while. Nice to hear from you.

I agree that this move, and I would say the deal for Porzingis, are win now plays. As you said, it will take a while to judge the value received versus what was given up.

I think the new CBA is driving a good part of this mentality. Once Tatum gets his new deal, it's going to be hard to carry much top tier talent beyond him and Brown. Second tier guys like Pritchard, signed to his new extension, may become the type of longer-term pieces clubs need. If players like Brogdon and RWIII could stay healthy, they might be the kind of financial fit clubs need to contend at a more reasonable price.

NESportsfan12 wrote:

RosalieTCeltics wrote:So are you telling me you would not have made this trade??   I was against the KG trade and took so much flack from my son!!  Naturally I fell in love with what KG brought to Boston, and Al?  He had a decent career but ??  My issue is and has been for two years, that Rob just cannot stay on the floor. He has issues that May follow him for his career.  If you want to win NOW, you need guys with the status of a Holiday.  Do not get me wrong, I loved watching every minute that Rob spent on the floor, but, the time is now.  Who knows, maybe he will end up back here, Brad has a way of doing that!!

I hope you're right! Our track record with big-name, late-prime guards is...not good. Holiday is a special guy, but at his age you start worrying about durability (he's no Rob, but he hasn't played more than 67 games since 18-19 either). I also worry that the trade does strange things to our championship window. (Before the trade, everyone but Al was sort of in the same cohort. Now we've got a couple years to win and then the finances start looking tricky.)

Time will tell. It's definitely a win-now move. I think the way I feel about the trade depends a lot on what we see from Brogdon next year. If he really is irreparably broken, then we gave up Rob + picks for an amazing defensive guard who should give us at least 60 games. If Brogdon approximates (85%) what he did last season, then I guess I think we overpaid.

Playing spoiler to the rest of his suitors though, that's a damned fine thing, at any price.

I think we will have enough depth at that position. I understand Holiday may miss some games and we need him fresh for the playoff run, but so pleasently surprised by Banton already. He is a very good ball handler and showed an array of finishes tonight. Pritch looks like he’s going to have a breakout year, Derrick White always makes the right play both ends. That’s a lot of depth, boy did Banton show me alot tonight….great find by Brad.

After watching DWhite last night I was reminded of just how darn good he is. I love watching that kid play, have always had a real admiration of great defensive players. He showed last night why Brad was so smart making sure he was not included in any of the moves going on this summer. He is very close to untouchable on this team. So many things he does that just go unnoticed.

NYCelt wrote:

NESportsfan12 wrote:

RosalieTCeltics wrote:So are you telling me you would not have made this trade??   I was against the KG trade and took so much flack from my son!!  Naturally I fell in love with what KG brought to Boston, and Al?  He had a decent career but ??  My issue is and has been for two years, that Rob just cannot stay on the floor. He has issues that May follow him for his career.  If you want to win NOW, you need guys with the status of a Holiday.  Do not get me wrong, I loved watching every minute that Rob spent on the floor, but, the time is now.  Who knows, maybe he will end up back here, Brad has a way of doing that!!

I hope you're right! Our track record with big-name, late-prime guards is...not good. Holiday is a special guy, but at his age you start worrying about durability (he's no Rob, but he hasn't played more than 67 games since 18-19 either). I also worry that the trade does strange things to our championship window. (Before the trade, everyone but Al was sort of in the same cohort. Now we've got a couple years to win and then the finances start looking tricky.)

Time will tell. It's definitely a win-now move. I think the way I feel about the trade depends a lot on what we see from Brogdon next year. If he really is irreparably broken, then we gave up Rob + picks for an amazing defensive guard who should give us at least 60 games. If Brogdon approximates (85%) what he did last season, then I guess I think we overpaid.

Playing spoiler to the rest of his suitors though, that's a damned fine thing, at any price.

Hi NESportsfan,

Haven't seen you here in a while. Nice to hear from you.

I agree that this move, and I would say the deal for Porzingis, are win now plays. As you said, it will take a while to judge the value received versus what was given up.

I think the new CBA is driving a good part of this mentality. Once Tatum gets his new deal, it's going to be hard to carry much top tier talent beyond him and Brown. Second tier guys like Pritchard, signed to his new extension, may become the type of longer-term pieces clubs need. If players like Brogdon and RWIII could stay healthy, they might be the kind of financial fit clubs need to contend at a more reasonable price.

Good to be heard!

That's a good point -- take the high value players now while you can, then find cheaper guys to fill out the roster later. I rarely consider the financial side of these deals, so it's good to have that reminder.