The Boston Celtics will finish with the best record in the NBA this season, and the team and its fans are focused on winning an 18th world championship this June.
Boston has arguably the league’s best starting five, and this season, that includes guard Jrue Holiday, who was acquired last offseason in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Holiday essentially replaced Marcus Smart, who was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies, and he has supplied Boston with Smart’s defense while also providing them with the type of shooting efficiency Smart can only dream of having.
On Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Holiday has agreed to a $135 million, four-year contract extension in order to stay in Beantown.
BREAKING: After arriving in a blockbuster offseason trade, Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday has agreed on a four-year, $135 million contract extension, his agent Jason Glushon of @GlushonSM tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Llln2yczSI
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2024
Some fans are happy with this decision.
Brad Stevens hasn’t made many mistakes, I believe this will age well.
— GreenRunsDeep (@CelticsGRD) April 10, 2024
Prob won’t be worth it in 2 years but they have a window u gotta take it and not risk him leaving
— Lucro 💫 (@lucrodontmiss) April 10, 2024
However, some are concerned about the salary cap ramifications of this move, especially since Jayson Tatum and guard Derrick White will be due for extensions of their own in a year or two.
How are they gonna pay Derrick White?
— Aidan LaPorta (@AidanLaPorta69) April 10, 2024
How much cap space they got bruh 😭
— 30🅿️roblemz (@30problemz) April 10, 2024
For years, Holiday has been one of the NBA’s best backcourt defenders, and he can put the clamps on opposing ball-handlers like almost no one else.
While he’s not a major scoring threat, he is shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from 3-point range this season.
Those shooting percentages have helped the Celtics rank first in offensive efficiency and second in scoring average this year, while Holiday has been a major factor behind them being second in defensive efficiency.
Despite possessing plenty of talent in recent years and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals five times in the last seven seasons, the Celtics haven’t won the ultimate prize, at least not yet.
The good thing is that Holiday won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks three years ago, and that experience will come in handy during the playoffs when teams try to topple them.
NEXT:
Celtics Make Roster Decision Ahead Of The Playoffs
