Jrue Holiday Says Celtics Had 'Best Team' in NBA, Wants to Return amid Trade Rumors

Veteran guard Jrue Holiday told reporters Saturday that he wants to run it back with the Boston Celtics next season.

According to Jay King of The Athletic, Holiday said he believes the Celtics' championship window is still open, and he wants to help them vie for another title during the 2025-26 campaign.

Holiday also said, "I think that we had the best team in the league," adding that he believes the team let down the city of Boston and the Celtics organization.

Coming off a dominant, championship-winning season in 2023-24, the Celtics entered this season as the favorites to repeat, but they fell well short of expectations.

Although Boston had the league's third-best record during the regular season at 61-21, it was unable to advance past the second round of the playoffs, falling in six games to the New York Knicks.

The Celtics weren't at full strength during the series, as an illness severely limited star big man Kristaps Porziņģis' minutes, and superstar forward Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in Game 4.

As a result, Boston went out with a whimper, falling 119-81 to New York in Friday's Game 6.

Holiday, who will turn 35 next month, was a key contributor for the Celtics each of the past two seasons.

Although his numbers took a hit compared to his time with the Milwaukee Bucks since the Celtics have such a deep roster, he was particularly effective as a defender last season, finishing sixth in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting and earning an NBA All-Defensive Second Team Selection.

This season, the two-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 three-pointers made and 1.1 steals per game, although he wasn't as efficient as usual, shooting just 44.3 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Still, King reported Saturday that Holiday would likely interest "several contending teams" if the Celtics were to entertain trade offers.

There hasn't yet been any indication that the Celtics plan to do so, but with Tatum likely to miss most or all of the 2025-26 season, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that Boston could try to make a big move to replace some of what he brings to the table.

At the same time, the Celtics' current core even without Tatum is strong, so it is easy to envision Boston keeping Holiday and making a few tweaks to the roster during the offseason.