The Boston Celtics and guard Jrue Holiday have agreed on a four-year, $135 million contract extension, league sources confirmed Wednesday. ESPN first reported the news of the deal.
“Once I knew I was getting traded here, this is a part of what I wanted or what I envisioned,” Holiday said Thursday. “Being in a great organization, being here for a lengthy amount of time and being able to play along guys like (Jayson Tatum) and (Jaylen Brown) and really try to get more banners, get more rings here.”
Holiday was involved in the trade last offseason where the Portland Trail Blazers sent him to the Celtics in exchange for Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks. Before that, the Blazers acquired Holiday in a three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I want to be here,” Holiday said. “I want to win multiple rings and I’ve heard people say that here plenty of times. So I’m ready for that.”
Holiday, 33, is a two-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team. He won an NBA championship with the Bucks in 2021. During the 2023-24 season, Holiday is averaging 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.
What this means for Holiday and the Celtics
Once again, the Celtics were able to get a major offseason acquisition to take a pay cut on an extension. Kristaps Porziņģis agreed to a two-year, $60 million extension after being traded to Boston in the summer, and now Holiday will take a sizable discount by turning down his $37.4 million player option to initiate an extension that will start at around $30 million per year. This gives Holiday security into his late 30s, while still having a player option after the next TV deal potentially causes a spike in salaries.
Holiday immediately replaced Marcus Smart as the team’s defensive leader upon his arrival in Boston, as his versatility and responsibility coordinating the team’s coverages has helped Boston to the league’s second-best defensive rating. He has been one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters this season and has been able to fill every offensive role, even in a reduced capacity compared to his days in Milwaukee.
With this extension set, the attention turns to Derrick White. Holiday’s backcourt partner did not agree to an extension before this season and has had a major breakout year. White enters the final year of his deal next season making just $18.8 million, so he is due a substantial raise when he can hit the market in 2025 at 30 years old.
With Tatum likely to agree to a supermax extension this offseason and Brown’s supermax kicking in, finding room to pay White will become difficult due to the punitive salary cap second apron. But with Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser on cheap extensions, Boston can maintain its depth in the near future as it goes all-in on a championship. — Jared Weiss, Celtics staff writer
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