2024 champion Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday's trade to the Portland Trail Blazers has been altered, after a concerning medical report.
Boston had initially flipped the six-time All-Defensive Teamer to Portland in exchange for scoring guard Anfernee Simons and a pair of future second round draft picks. Initially, the Trail Blazers planned to ship out their rights to the New York Knicks' 2030 second round selection and their own '31 second.
A Trail Blazers press release confirmed that the deal was still on, but Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian points out that the second rounders will no longer be included in the deal, after Holiday had a concerning physical.
The Portland Trail Blazers trade with the Boston Celtics has been reduced to a straight player swap without the previously reported two second-round picks going to the Celtics, a league source has told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
— Aaron J. Fentress (@AaronJFentress) July 7, 2025
According to the source, a recent review of… pic.twitter.com/P5KzBABg1h
"According to the source, a recent review of Holiday’s medicals revealed nothing substantial enough to warrant the trade being negated. However, there was enough there to lead the Blazers to slightly alter the terms of the deal," Fentress writes. "Holiday, the source said, is considered to be healthy and will be working out this summer in preparation for the start of training camp near the end of September."
By bringing back more payroll than the team is surrendering, Portland will become hard-capped at the league's first tax apron this season.
After losing six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum to an Achilles tendon tear during the 2025 playoffs, the Celtics pivoted to cost-cutting mode this summer, ditching Holiday and starting center Kristaps Porzingis in trades, and letting free agent center Luke Kornet move on as well. Another free agent big man, former five-time All-Star Al Horford (who proved inarguably more pivotal to Boston during the playoffs than the oft-hurt Porzingis), seems likely to head elsewhere, too.
All told, Boston will be bringing back just one draft pick, not three, in its Porzingis and Holiday deals.
Simons, who's nine years Holiday's junior at age 26, is a scoring upgrade but a massive defensive downgrade. Last season on the 36-46 Trail Blazers, the 6-foot-3 combo guard averaged 19.3 points on .426/.363/.902 shooting splits, 4.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds a night.