The NBA offseason has heated up in a very short amount of time. Following the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade (which I broke down and graded here), the Celtics made two big moves, getting under the dreaded second apron in the span of 24 hours. Soon after, an unforeseen Wizards/Pelicans swap took place. Today, I’m grading and explaining those three trades. Let’s jump right in!
The Jrue Holiday Trade
Full trade:
Celtics get: Anfernee Simons, two second-round picks
Blazers get: Jrue Holiday
Celtics: A
This is a great return for the Celtics. They accomplished their primary objective, which was to offload an aging Holiday’s salary on another team. Not only did they get under the second apron though, they got Simons in return. Simons is 26 years old and a very good three-point shooter. He averaged 19.3 points per game during the 2024-25 season and with this Celtics team, he’ll get good minutes and the opportunity to fire away at his heart’s content. He only has two years left on his contract, which means the C’s will have the opportunity to offload him if they don’t like his long term fit.
Blazers: C+
I don’t really understand what the Blazers were going for here. Yes, Holiday is a great veteran and mentor, but what else? Defense is the only thing I can point to. The Blazers have a great defensive core, featuring the likes of Toumani Camara, Matisse Thybulle, Deni Avdija, and Shaedon Sharpe.
Even as Holiday begins to age out of the NBA, he can still be a productive player for a few years. But, he’s 35 and already doesn’t look like nearly the same player as he was during his two title runs. Not only that, but Holiday did not want to leave Boston. While I don’t doubt he’ll make the most of the situation, he definitely does not want to move across the country to Oregon. Saying that Holiday is a good fit with this team is just trying to be optimistic. Having to give up a young guard about to enter his prime in Simons and two second-rounders feels like the Blazers got fleeced; I wouldn’t be surprised if Holiday ends up elsewhere this offseason.
The Kristaps Porzingis Trade
Hawks receive: Kristaps Porzingis, second-round pick
Nets receive: Terance Mann, #22 overall pick in 2025 Draft
Celtics receive: Georges Niang, second-round pick
Hawks: A+
I really like this move for the Hawks. It has been made abundantly clear that the Eastern Conference is wide open next year, and any team could make a deep playoff run. For many teams that were a piece or two away, trading for that piece could mean a conference finals run (if not NBA Finals appearance). We saw the Orlando Magic get their piece with Desmond Bane; for the Hawks, their piece is Porzingis.
While speculation ran rampant about what the Hawks planned to do, it didn’t seem likely that they would trade away Trae Young and start a rebuild. They have a very solid core around him, with the likes of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Caris LeVert. However, one of the key thing the Hawks were missing was a stretch big. With Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu as the team’s two big men, the Hawks couldn’t go five-out, or space the floor to give Young and others driving room. Porzingis is that missing piece. He’ll add value on both ends of the floor, as long as he can stay healthy. This Atlanta team just went from a potential first round exit to a team with a decent chance to make it to the conference finals.
Nets: B+
The Nets had to get thrown into this detail to make everything work, and they made the most of it. By grabbing another first-round pick from this draft, the Nets are now in control of 1/6 of the draft picks in the first round. Look for them to make an aggressive trade-up in the draft or trade in general for a star player. The real value of this trade lies in what they do with all their draft capital, and how the #22 pick factors into all of this.
Celtics: B
The Celtics aren’t receiving anything of substance in this trade; the only point of making the deal was to get rid of Porzingis’ salary, and duck under that second apron. They accomplished that mission, which gives them flexibility (as I touched on earlier with the Holiday trade). It sucks to see Porzingis go; he was really important to the title winning Celtics, and his spacing will definitely be missed. Still, I think most Celtics fans can agree they would’ve rather let Porzingis go than Derrick White or (god forbid) Jaylen Brown.
The CJ McCollum/Jordan Poole Swap
Full trade:
Pelicans receive: Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, #40 pick in 2025 NBA Draft
Wizards receive: CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, future second-round pick
Wizards grade: A-
Overall, I like this move for the Wizards. By dealing Poole, the Wizards are shedding some salary, as both McCollum and Olynyk are on expiring deals. However, in the meantime, they’ll be great veterans to help mentor the young Washington core. The Washington veterans now consist of McCollum, Olynyk, Marcus Smart, and Khris Middleton. As far as veterans go, that’s a good group to mentor the likes of Bub Carrington, Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, and the 6th overall pick in the draft. The only veteran of this group I don’t like is Olynyk, who Wizards fans have a complicated relationship with. Not only has he hit several game winners against the Wizards, but he also helped end the Wizards playoff run in 2017 while he was on the Celtics. Hopefully no limbs will be broken or shoulders torn in practice with Olynyk playing defense.
Pelicans: A/C+
It’s a little soon to tell with the Pelicans, but this move will either work out splendidly or terribly for them. A lot of it depends on how Poole acclimates to his new situation, and if he gets to run pick and rolls with Zion Williamson. If Williamson’s healthy, then this move could be great for the Pelicans. While it won’t lift them into contention, it’ll get them at least to the play-in. However, if Williamson is still injured and the pairing of Poole and Dejounte Murray doesn’t pan out as well as it should on paper, then this deal will have been a bust. McCollum in that case would have been better off being dealt for a study point guard who can run an offense effectively, such as Tyus Jones or someone similar.
Stay tuned for draft coverage!
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