Last night, the Boston Celtics sent Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Anferneee Simons and two second-round choices, setting off the first domino effect in NBA trades after the Finals.
After placing 12th in the West with a 36-46 record last season, 12 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8th slot, the Blazers are aiming to make a run at the playoffs, as indicated by the move.
Prior to the start of the 2023–24 season, Jrue Holiday was traded from Portland to Boston in the Damian Lillard trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.
After starting the season with a 14-28 record, Portland showed signs of being a young, improving club by winning 10 of their last 11 games between mid-January to early February.
As part of their losing streak in the second half, the Grizzlies lost 115–99 against the Trail Blazers in Portland on March 19th. Brandon Clarke, a reserve forward for the Grizzlies, got hurt in that game and did not return for the remainder of the season.
Here is what Memphis can do to stay ahead of Portland in the West standings, especially with their addition of a guard with championship experience to their roster.
Stick to their plan
Most pundits would have predicted that the Grizzlies got worse after trading Desmond Bane, but are expected to make additional moves with the four first-round draft picks received in the move.
Also, they received Kentavious-Caldwell, who is only one of three players to win multiple championships since 2020 (Jrue Holiday and Alex Caruso are the others).
While it feels like Caldwell-Pope is the equivalent of what Jrue Holiday will be for the Blazers, utilizing other players, such as the one received in the Bane trade, Cole Anthony, will likely be part of the team’s plan to improve. The offseason is still young as the NBA draft approaches, so Memphis does not need to panic, as they are still likely better than Portland as currently constructed.
Pivot to other targets
The other domino to fall with the Blazers’ trade for Holiday is rumored Grizzlies’ target, Deni Avdija, is likely to remain with the team as one of their bright young players. Avdija had a breakout second half of the regular season for the Blazers and appears to be one of their building blocks after not being included in their trade to acquire Jrue Holiday.
The Grizzlies likely have other targets they have in mind to look to acquire with their assets, so potentially missing out on Avdija isn’t the end of the world. However, this move did signal that the team must prioritize other avenues to fill their small forward position, as Portland is looking to compete with them in the Western Conference standings.
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