Payton Pritchard Has Proven Celtics Won the Jrue Holiday Trade

The Boston Celtics moving off Jrue Holiday's contract in the swap that brought on Anfernee Simons' expiring contract was always a smart long-term financial decision. Holiday is 35 and has two more seasons on his deal after this one. He's currently out with a right calf strain.

Boston may have regretted that decision had Payton Pritchard not taken the step forward in play-making he has next to Derrick White in the Celtics' backcourt. There's nothing for Brad Stevens to regret at this moment with how Pritchard is performing in a high-profile starting role.

Pritchard had his second-finest overall performance to date in a Boston uniform on Saturday night, going for 33 points on 13/24 shooting (4/9 from three), 10 assists, and seven rebounds in a 112-96 win over the Toronto Raptors. On the season, he's averaging 16/5/4, and his three-point percentage is rapidly rising after a bad start.

Pritchard even hinted that he's playing with more freedom this season following the win, saying he's "Just trying to play with this relentless feel," and that he feels like he hasn't had that.

"Defensively, offensively, playing like my hair’s on fire," Pritchard said.

That's not a direct correlation with Holiday's departure. If anything, Holiday's arrival spurned a massive play-making improvement for Pritchard from 2023-24 to now.

It's just undeniable that there's something different about his game, and the most obvious difference is an increased opportunity that otherwise wouldn't be there.

Celtics Won the Jrue Holiday Trade For Several Reasons

Pritchard is now undeniable as the team's starting point guard. That wouldn't have been the case had Holiday stayed. Who knows if we'd be getting these gaudy performances if Pritchard isn't forced into a bigger role because of Simons' defensive shortcomings, too.

Landing Simons for Holiday kept the Celtics afloat enough in the early going as the young guys like Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez got their feet underneath them. Simons hasn't been a roadblock to Pritchard in his minutes, though.

That means Stevens and Co. traded Holiday away at the right time and got the perfect filler piece in return.

They served new ownership by reducing the tax bill and long-term commitments, and allowed the best bargain contract on their roster to thrive. Win-win.