David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Chauncey Billups Helped Jrue Holiday After Celtics Guard Uprooted
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers for a very brief period in the 2023 offseason. The Milwaukee Bucks traded the defensive-minded guard to Portland as part of a three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee.
Holiday said via Jay King of The Athletic that the Trail Blazers' head coach, Chauncey Billups, prioritized the 33-year-old's well-being right after a shocking moment in his NBA career.
“It meant a lot,” expressed the two-time All-Star. “Being able to see a coach that has my best interests (in mind). And you could see it and you could hear it, which a lot of times maybe some players don’t get a chance to see that from a coach. So he definitely had my best interest (at heart) from the beginning. And he just always looked out for me.”
Billups — who played 17 seasons in the NBA — told the media that he knows what it's like to be "blindsided" by a trade like Holiday was.
“It was a little tough spot for him, getting traded,” Billups said. “Kind of being blindsided by that. I’ve been there. So just being able to talk with him like that because I know him. And it was for important for me that a good person like him, who’s been great on every team and every community, for him to be treated properly.”
Holiday has appeared in 57 games so far in the 2023-24 regular season, his first season with the Celtics, and is averaging 12.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and 44.6 percent from deep.
Further Reading
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Marcus Smart Shares How Boston Shaped Him, His Message to Celtics Fans
Celtics Maturation Molded by Experience: 'It Builds, Like, an Armor'
Jaylen Brown Quieting Doubters, Validating What He Always Believed: 'Earn Everybody's Trust'
Joe Mazzulla Discusses Identity, Evolution of Celtics' Offense: 'Balance of Pace and Execution'
