The Impact of the Jrue Holiday trade, short and long-term

Boston will trade Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Anfernee Simons and a pair of second-round picks.

Jrue Holiday, set to be traded to Portland, was one of the keys to Boston’s 2024 NBA title - the franchise’s first in more than a decade. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

BOSTON — The dismantling of the Boston Celtics’ championship-caliber roster has officially begun with the team reportedly ready to trade Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and a pair of future second-round draft picks.

But in what many saw as the beginning of the Boston rebuild, it has the look and feel of a retool that might keep the Celtics still among the top-tier teams in the East even without Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out for most, if not all, of this upcoming season.

How does that work?