I sent off the champion point guard 2 years ago and collected the garbage contract. Now I m doing a loss-making business, and this team has become a sucker!

Two years later, the Trail Blazers and the Celtics completed another amazing deal, that is, the Trail Blazers gave Anthony Simmons and a second-round draft pick in exchange for 35-year-old veteran Ju Holiday. After the deal was announced, it also caused heated discussions among fans. Many fans believe that the Trail Blazers are completely crazy. They were fooled by the Celtics two years ago. They still don’t have a good memory. They once again made a loss-making business and became the biggest suckers in the NBA today. Let’s take a look at what the Celtics have gained in these two transactions!

1. Harvest the championship puzzle and clean up the garbage contract.

First, back to the summer of 2023, although the Celtics once again made it to the Eastern Conference Finals stage, they still became stepping stones for the Heat's Black Eight Miracle. Therefore, they also chose to not break or stand, and directly sent away the team's many years of team spirit, Marcus Smart, in the hope of getting a point guard who has both offense and defense. The Bucks at that time also wanted to take advantage of Giannis Antetokounmpo's peak period and were eager to find a top outside star, so they used Holiday as a bargaining chip to get Damian Lillard from the Trail Blazers. And in this case, the Celtics immediately contacted the Trail Blazers and got Holiday through a one-for-four deal. We all know the story later. After coming to the Celtics in the 23-24 season, Holiday was completely liberated. He no longer needed to focus more on scoring, but just do a good job of defense and organization. As a result, he averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists per game, with his efficiency close to the 180 Club. In the end, he successfully helped the Celtics reach the top in 2024 and won the NBA championship again after 16 years.

At the same time, the Celtics gave the Pioneers chips. Although Robert Williams was selected for the best defensive team and his ability was not bad, his attendance rate in recent years was terrible. In fact, the Celtics did not make mistakes. After Rowe came to the Trail Blazers, he only played 26 games in a total of two seasons, and his glass attributes were already quite obvious. It is precisely because of this that they completely got rid of the garbage contract of Rowe. Although Malcolm Brogodon could output 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the previous season and won the trophy of the Sixth Man, his attendance rate was also not high. In the two seasons of the Trail Blazers and the Wizards, he only played 63 games. The total number of appearances in the two seasons is not even comparable to Holiday alone. It can be seen that it is indeed difficult for them to help the Celtics any more. Of course, the Celtics also paid 2 first-round draft picks, but considering that the team's lineup has been relatively reasonable in recent years and can maintain sufficient competitiveness for a long time, these two draft picks are likely to be draft picks at the end of the first round, so they can be accepted. In short, this transaction is indeed very cost-effective for the Celtics.

2. Clean up the garbage contract again to strengthen the firepower on the outside.

Let's talk about this deal again. Coincidentally, this time it still revolves around Holiday, but Holiday is no longer as good as that of the time. At the age of 33, he is still an All-Star point guard. His offense and defense are excellent, which has triggered a snatch from the entire league. But now at the age of 35, his personal ability has declined significantly. During the regular season, although Holiday could still contribute 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists, his efficiency has already declined. During the playoffs, his data dropped sharply to 9.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4 assists. Especially in the second round of the series against the Knicks, he averaged only 9.3 points per game, completely suppressed by the young Jaylen Brunson. It is precisely because Brunson was unable to limit him that the team was frequently beaten by him on the defensive end. Therefore, in the eyes of the outside world, Holiday needs to shoulder the responsibility for the failure to defend the title this time. Moreover, the four-year, $140 million contract he signed last year has three full years left, so after the season, the Celtics were eager to trade him out of Boston.

And this time, the Trail Blazers were the ones who "helped". They not only swallowed Holiday's big contract, but also gave Anthony Simmons. Although his defensive ability cannot be compared with Holiday, Simmons is far superior to Holiday in terms of scoring ability alone. In the past two seasons, the 26-year-old Simmons averaged 20.6 points and 5.1 assists per game, and made 3.2 three-pointers per game. He is one of the best three-pointers in the NBA today. His arrival will largely make up for the gap in scoring firepower for Jason Tatum who was absent due to injury. Moreover, the Celtics' own tactics are mainly three-pointers, which is very consistent with Simmons's game style, so he will be able to integrate into the team's system soon. Of course, the most important thing is that Simmons' contract is only 4 years and $100 million, and it will expire after the end of next season. Even if Simmons' performance does not meet expectations, the team will be able to automatically terminate the cooperation with him in a year. It is precisely because of his arrival that the team saved $40 million in luxury taxes, and even the Trail Blazers also gave a second round draft pick. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Trail Blazers are the number one sucker in the NBA today. They are willing to make wedding dresses for the Celtics.