Did not expect this one tonight but its a unsurprising general move, we presumed that the Celtics would make a move to cut their cap this offseason and after this move it only reassures me more is coming from them. Meanwhile I find this to be a smart trade from Portland but there's a real chance this backfires on them but I will save that for my grades. I think this is one of the more balanced trades we have had so far, I think this is good for both teams but not near perfect at all. It's funny how the two teams have just passed Jrue Holiday around. Anyway I have really no more thoughts on these teams I think we will see a lot more of them this offseason especially the Celtics!

Trade Grade Explanation: https://fanspo.com/nba/s/general/p/epTyDdsSXUgNRK/my-trade-grade-rankings-explained

Boston: B

This makes a lot of sense for Boston, they made a move to cut some money long term off and get someone who can start and impact the roster next season and keep them competitive while getting two long term seconds. lets be clear that I do not expect Anfernee Simons to become a long term piece of the core in Boston, I think there's a high chance they move him at the deadline depending on how well they are playing before this and I think if that doesn't happen then Boston could well just let him walk next year when he expires and buy into a separate player who may fit a team with Jayson Tatum when he returns. This also makes me doubt that the Celtics targeted Anfernee Simons as a player in this. However I also believe they could have done a better job at cutting more than $4.7m this season, this means they will likely have to dump the whole Hauser contract and move off of Kristaps Porzingis to cut money as well. But I just think there's not really much of a way that this backfires on the Celtics unless Jrue Holiday regains a tonne of value on Portland which could somewhat happen but I would be surprised if it makes them lose any sleep. Simons is a good short term pick up to just add needed creation and scoring on this team and while he is poor defensively, Boston has the team to hide that with White and Brown. I also would like to say this is a big important year for Simons, we get to see how he adjusts to a big culture change and tactical change and see how he could take control in Boston or downscale into a role which will definitely help us assess the real value of a player in Simons while he could also pick up some traits from this Boston team that has been winning for a few years and have a very disciplined team ethic that any player will want.

Portland: B-

This is an interesting trade for Portland that I quite like for them, what I applaud them for is getting Jrue Holiday while only taking on that $4.7m while also getting an impactful vet for the roster, I do not think Jerami Grant for example as a vet has been very impactful for this team or any of the older guys we find on this roster meanwhile Jrue Holiday has the skills to me to play alongside Scoot Henderson within the starting lineup as well a Shedon Sharpe, now you probably still start Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara in the starters os I doubt we see all three of those guys start so what I will find interesting is who becomes that 6th man for the roster. This also builds an extremely strong defensive identity in Portland which I think is the right move, Camara, Holiday and Clingan definitely moves me as a defensive core with a Guard, Wing/Forward, Center who can impact really well defensively. Jrue Holiday is the perfect vet for a guy like Scoot and we have seen reports that the Trailblazers have been very focused on adding a vet for him this offseason which makes me believe that the Trailblazers are going to be keeping Jrue Holiday this season at the least with the roster. Is that guaranteed? no, but from all I've been hearing it seems to be the strongest deduction from this trade. now everything I've said would tell me i'm grading this too low but Jrue Holiday is a long term contract that likely will be a big negative in a few years, add on Jerami Grants similarly long deal this could and probably will become a very pivotal trade in the long term development of the roster complexion of this Portland Roster. Im not going to overthink this and I think they get better and I do believe Jrue Holiday is pretty underrated yet he is overpaid and I think there's a very reasonable way for Jrue to play his value up for a potential move next year I just think whatever value Portland gets in that move is likely going to be downscaled due to the hefty contract. This also means that if Jrue blows up in their face there's a second big Nuclear fallout with that deal which just gets enhance by the other overpays within the roster. So it holds it back, there's a lot that can go wrong, but simply they get better and they dd a vet presence thats going to be very important for the development of the roster.

So yeah I believe this is pretty balance trade which both teams did well in!