UCLA's Jrue Holiday Among Top Names in NBA Trade Market

The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement strikes again. This time, it's next victim is former UCLA Bruins guard Jrue Holiday.

On the heels of a second-round flameout and injury to superstar Jayson Tatum, change this offseason in inevitable for the defending champion Boston Celtics.

With Tatum likely out for most of next season and second apron restrictions looming, Holiday and his massive contract make him the most obvious piece for Boston to move.

The former Bruin signed a four-year, $134.4 million, fully-guaranteed extension with the Celtics after helping them to their 18th NBA title. And with three years left on his deal where he'll be due $37.2 million in 2027-28 (when he's 28-years-old), Boston will reportedly make drastic changes to its roster and Holiday will be the main pawn.

Reported interests from several teams has been make waves the past couple of days. The veteran guard is drawing the eyes of the Dallas Mavericks, who will be without point guard Kyrie Irving for the better half of next season and will likely pick Duke standout Cooper Flagg with the first pick in this year's draft, and the Los Angeles Clippers, even though Law Murray, senior writer for The Athletic, has already denounced those reports.

Despite finishing his 16th season in the NBA, though, Holiday has proven that he can still be a formidable contributor to winning, which is why many of the league's contending teams are going to take a shot at acquiring the UCLA product.

Holiday played just one season with the Bruins in the 2008-09 season and started in all 35 of their games. He averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game and helped lead UCLA to a 26-9 overall record.

He was also selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team and was part of one of UCLA's best backcourt tandems with Darren Collison.

Holiday was drafted 17th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2009 NBA Draft and has since won two NBA Championships, is a two-time All-Star and has made the All-Defensive Team six times in his career.

There is no telling what Holiday's next NBA team will likely be, or if he will continue to be able to produce at the level the rest of his contract entails, but people around the NBA still view him as a pivotal piece to contention.

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