Windhorst: Jrue Holiday, Celtics Have 'Interest' in New Contract Sooner Than Later

The Boston Celtics and guard Jrue Holiday are reportedly determined to reach a long-term contract extension "sooner rather than later."

"He is eligible on April 1 to, he's already eligible now but he, this sounds funky, he gets more eligible April 1. There's fewer limits on what he can sign April 1. And I do think that there's interest on both sides to get something done sooner rather than later. Whether they do or not I don't know," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective (50-minute mark).

The Celtics and Holiday have been playing a waiting game until April 1 to get serious about an extension. League rules place restrictions on the extension type a player can sign for his first six months after a trade, and Holiday officially became a Celtic on Oct. 1.

Holiday has publicly expressed an interest in getting a deal done.

"I think everybody kind of knows we're set and we're set for a long period," Holiday told MassLive's Brian Robb. "No matter what happens, you are going to come back here with the same guys for the most part. Things happen but I think you lock into that, being able to have that comfortability and just kind of that pressure off of you about what's next."

The veteran guard is averaging 12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in his first year with the Celtics. He's largely taken on a secondary role offensively with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis handling the brunt of the scoring load, but Holiday remains a stellar, versatile defender and he's knocking down a career-high 44.5 percent of his threes this season.

With all major core pieces under contract through next season, adding at least one or two years to Holiday's deal would make some sense—even if it means taking on pretty significant luxury tax penalties.