In the late hours of June 23rd, a day removed from an OKC championship and a devastating injury to the star of the Improbable Indiana Pacers, the Blazers made a splash two days before the 2025 NBA Draft with a trade.
We traded Anfernee Simons (and some 2nd Round picks) for Jrue Holiday. At first glance, it's slightly sad to see Ant leave the city that drafted him, but this is definitely a positive for the team's growth. Ant is great offensively and bad defensively. Jrue is good offensively and tremendous defensively. Yes, Jrue is 35. Yes, he’s past his peak. But Jrue can still hoop and, more importantly, mentor Scoot and Shaedon to improve their defensive skills and serve as a championship-winning vet presence in the locker room for these young studs. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports said it well on the benefits of this trade for Portland, in that there are too many young guards wanting to play and prove their worth, something Jrue doesn’t need to do at this point in his career.
Overall, I love this for Portland. Ant was the last piece of the Olshey regime, so Cronin can officially say this team is his, and that should help propel them forward even more than the growth seen last season. They can continue the “defensive mindset” Chauncey is instilling with the addition of Jrue. Toumani and Deni can continue to be the focal piece of this dominant defense, with Tisse and Clingan providing additional support. Scoot and Shaedon are both still finding their footing in the NBA, and Jrue might be the guy needed to make this leap. All of this, with the #11 pick on Wednesday’s NBA Draft, should create a dark horse team in a crowded Western Conference. Considering all this happened on the first day of the offseason, it’s hard to get too “in the weeds” before knowing how the rest of the summer shakes out. However, it’s hard not to be excited about this team and its identity (something we’ve lacked for years) as we look forward to the offseason.
Good luck to Ant in Boston. They have a lot of moves left to make, so it's hard to know if he’s going to stay put, but if he does, the rest of the NBA will get to see why we loved him in pinwheeled red and black.
Assumed Starting 5 after this trade: Jrue, Shae, Toumani, Deni, Clingan.
Rotation: Scoot, Tisse, Jerami, Rob Will, Ayton
The Rest: Dalano, Kris, Jabari, Doup, Rayan
Full Trade Details:
Portland Trail Blazers Receives
- Jrue Holiday
Boston Celtics Receives
- Anfernee Simons
- 2030 2nd Round Pick (Knicks)
- 2031 2nd Round Pick (Trail Blazers)
Next up: NBA Draft 6/25