Jrue Holiday 'perfect fit' for Celtics, team president says - ESPN

BOSTON — When Celtics president Brad Stevens arrived at the team practice facility for a 9 a.m. meeting Monday he found his prized new player, Jrue Holiday, had beaten him into work.

Last season the Celtics' surprise before the start of training camp was a dramatic head coaching change. This year's stunner is a positive one as Stevens closed the deal with the Portland Trail Blazers for Holiday less than 24 hours before media day.

«There's a list of guys in the league that you always think you've never had a real chance to get that you think are perfect fits,» Stevens said at the team's media day. «And Jrue is one of those guys.»

Stevens said over the summer he and his staff had been trying to project how the Damian Lillard trade might play out for the Blazers and if there would be opportunity to get involved in a secondary deal. When it was Holiday, an All-Star last season and five-time All-Defensive team member, a small bidding war developed among contenders, and the Celtics found themselves right in the middle of it.

It led them into paying a premium price that included key players Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon plus two first-round picks. The trade also added $11 million to the Celtics' payroll including additional luxury taxes.

«You got to pay a good price for things, right? That's the way it goes. We're trying to win a championship,» Stevens said. «This speaks to our ownership's willingness to spend regardless and our eagerness to be the best possible team we can be.»

The deal potentially gives the Celtics one of the most formidable starting lineups in the league with three All-Stars from last season including Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, plus big man Kristaps Porzingis, the team's other major offseason