Jrue Holiday: Blazers 'Did a Great Job of Communicating With Me' Before Celtics Trade

Jrue Holiday wasn't a member of the Trail Blazers for long, but he praised Portland general manager Joe Cronin for working with him to find a trade to a contender.

"Portland blessed me. Joe Cronin did a great job of communicating with me on how I wanted to proceed. … Working with him was very easy, very seamless, and made all of this possible," the new Boston Celtics point guard told reporters Wednesday.

Holiday was initially traded to the Trail Blazers in the deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. Portland flipped him to Boston in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III and two first-round picks.

Holiday should be a solid fit in Boston's system, especially after the team traded Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in the three-team deal that landed them Kristaps Porziņģis from the Washington Wizards.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens went as far as to call him the "perfect fit" while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

"There's a list of guys in the league that you always think you've never had a real chance to get that you think are perfect fits," Stevens said at the team's media day. "And Jrue is one of those guys."

Holiday spent the last three seasons of his career in Milwaukee, helping the team capture an NBA title in 2020. He's coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 67 games while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor and 38.4 percent from deep.

The 33-year-old should also be considered a pretty big upgrade from Smart, who was a fan favorite for his defensive abilities and hustle. In addition to being a more effective scorer than Smart, he's also a five-time All-Defensive honoree and can fill in the gaps on defense.

The acquisition of Holiday gives the Celtics perhaps the most intimidating starting lineup in the NBA. He'll start alongside Porziņģis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as Boston aims to rival the duo of Lillard an Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.