NBA news: Jrue Holiday drops truth bomb on Bucks' Damian Lillard trade backfiring

Yesterday at 04:12 PM

While the Milwaukee Bucks are struggling mightily to open up the young season, the Boston Celtics have picked up right where they left off last year when they hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Of course, shortly before last year began, the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard in a deal that sent Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers before ultimately ending up on the Boston Celtics.

While Lillard may remain the more talented player, Holiday was exactly what the Celtics needed a year ago, providing much better crunch time decision making and floor spacing than the team had in Marcus Smart and helping guide Boston to its first championship in 16 years.

Now, Holiday is getting one hundred percent real on why he doesn’t harbor any resentment toward the Bucks for trading him, per Run It Back presented by FanDuel.

“I understood the business of it,” said Holiday. “And I mean again, on paper, that trade, adding Dame, out of ten people, who wouldn’t make that trade? I wouldn’t, just because it’s me, but I feel like that’s just how it goes. That’s how the business works, and again, it’s early… you never know what’ll happen.”

Did the Bucks lose the trade?

While it may be hard to remember now, there was a time when Holiday became known for his struggles in the postseason, which reared their ugly head in the Bucks’ shocking first round loss vs the Miami Heat in 2023.

After that, it was clear that Giannis Antetokounmpo needed more firepower in his number two option in order to lift Milwaukee back to the championship heights it reached in 2021.

However, while Lillard has provided some scoring punch as expected, the Bucks’ defense has taken a significant hit with Holiday’s departure, and the highly anticipated pick and roll partnership between Lillard and Antetokounmpo hasn’t been quite as dominant as fans expected coming in.

Meanwhile, Holiday has fit in seamlessly alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and the rest of the Celtics’ mini All-Star team since joining them, providing defensive versatility, playmaking, and outside shooting ability that truly is nearly impossible for opponents to keep up with.

The Celtics got the better of the Bucks in their first matchup this season last week from Boston, but Milwaukee will have a chance to exact some revenge when the two teams next square off on November 10.

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