Celtics are forced to reduce spending, Holiday is widely concerned by multiple teams

For the Celtics, if you want to clear your cap space this summer, Ju Holiday's big contract is the most necessary to try to trade. Although they will miss his defense extremely, Holiday's performance has begun to decline, and for those around 35-year-olds who are not elite shooters, their form tends to drop sharply. The problem with Boston is that other teams are likely to see this, and Holiday's decline in offensive ability—his averaged 11.1 points per game is the lowest since his rookie season—makes a potential trading partner less likely to think he still has the ability to rebound offense.

If there are other team management who thinks Holiday's contract has positive value, the Celtics should act quickly, but it is reasonable to say that his remaining contract salary has become a burden on the team. While this may be unacceptable, in order to facilitate the deal, the Celtics may need to give up a mid-value asset like a future first-round final pick or this year's 28th signing. Waiting will only increase the risk of his form further downturn in the future, thereby damaging his trading value, while retaining Holiday is more likely to lead to the team having to trade another player who may be more important to Boston's success in the 2026-27 season and beyond.

The famous journalist Jack Fisher once wrote an article to acknowledge this. "If the Celtics ultimately decide to try to cut payroll expenses after Tatum's severe Achilles tendon tear, Holiday and Porzingis are often mentioned as potential traders."

According to Celtics journalist Brian Robo, a source revealed that Ju Holiday is expected to be chased by multiple teams in the trading market, and the Clippers are expected to be one of the teams interested in the 34-year-old veteran defender this offseason. Sources also said that the Celtics defeated several teams including the Clippers in 2023 and successfully signed Holiday, who was selected as the All-Star twice.