The New Orleans Pelicans ended up trading Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft. Before that occurred, the Boston Celtics made various attempts to put themselves in a position to execute a deal for Holiday.
One of the attempts the Celtics made to acquire Holiday was a trade package consisting of Gordon Hayward and the three 1st round picks in the 2020 NBA Draft they currently have, per The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
There likely wasn’t much value from the Pelicans’ perspective in a trade package centered around Hayward and multiple 2020 1st round picks. It’s a weak draft class this year and New Orleans already has Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram to play the forward spots.
Perhaps most interesting of all was that The Athletic’s Zach Harper reported how the Celtics were shopping Kemba Walker to land the necessary NBA Draft picks to entice the Pelicans to send them Holiday.
The Celtics’ interest level in Jrue Holiday is interesting to think about when considering they already have an on-ball defensive stopper in Marcus Smart. Perhaps Walker internally was viewed as too much of a liability on defense in the playoffs.
RELATED: Gordon Hayward Is ‘Undecided’ On Player Option With Celtics
With plenty of assets and Gordon Hayward still left to trade, the Celtics could turn to the Indiana Pacers in a potential sign-and-trade. Hayward is still mulling his options on his player option but league sources tell NBA Analysis Network that he would welcome a return to his home state.
There is still a need for the Boston Celtics to address the center position and Myles Turner would be a logical option to pursue. He already has chemistry with the team’s main key players from their mutual time together with USA Basketball last summer.
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