NBA Trade Rumor: a new team has emerged in the Jrue Holiday sweepstakes.

A new team has emerged as a potential Jrue Holiday destination.

According to MassLives’ Brian Robb, the Los Angeles Clippers are a team that could get involved in a potential Holiday trade as the Celtics try to get under the 2nd apron.

Holiday is expected to be pursued by several teams on the trade market, and a league source tells MassLive that the Los Angeles Clippers are one team expected to show interest in the 34-year-old guard this offseason. The Celtics outbid several teams, including the Clippers, per sources, for Holiday back in 2023 when the Blazers made the two-time All-Star available following the Damian Lillard blockbuster deal to the Bucks. Boston ended up dealing Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and two future first- round picks for Holiday in the deal before training camp that helped lead the Celtics to a 2024 title.

While it is unclear what the Clippers final offer ultimately was, they were in the sweepstakes of trying to land Holiday after he was traded to the Blazers for Damian Lillard.

The Clippers report comes a few days after Marc Stein reported that the Dallas Mavericks could be interested in Holiday.

Any deal that involves the Clippers would see the Celtics likely take Bogdan Bogdanovic, his $16 million salary. If Boston and Los Angeles can complete the trade before the calendar turns to July and the new league year begins the deal Robb mentioned in his story of Holiday for Bogdanovic, Drew Eubanks and one of Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown or Cam Christie, brother of Mavericks guard Max Christie, works.

However, if the deal is done after the July 6 moratorium is lifted, that deal would not work due to Holiday’s rising salary and Eubanks and Bogdanovic’s decreasing salary.

In a deal that takes place after the league year turn, it would require the Celtics to take on Kris Dunn’s $5 million contract, something the likely do not want to do. The Clippers likely also do not want to give up Dunn if they don’t have to.

If the teams decide to wait because the Clippers would rather move Dunn that one of their young guys, Boston would likely flip both Dunn and Eubanks in that trade so using the Nets’ cap space. As a result, it could look like this.

In that deal, Boston would need to move picks to get off of Eubanks and Dunn, something I am sure they would like to avoid.

For each team that wants Holiday, it lessens the likely hood that Boston would need to attach draft picks to get off of the remaining 3 years and $104 million left on his contract. Which is of course what Brad Stevens and company would like to avoid in their quest to get under the second apron.

I don’t think Boston will need to attach picks to get off of Holiday, every year you hear about a team that wants a veteran player who has been through the wars of the playoffs to help lead their young talent. Who better to do that than Holiday? He has won titles in his first season on new teams as well.

Getting under the second apron is vital for the Celtics, as Celticsblog’s Bobby Manning mentioned in his Holiday to Dallas rumor story.

Next season’s roster projects to cost roughly $500 million between payroll and repeater tax penalties, and another season above the second apron line would freeze the Celtics’ 2033 first round pick. They need to spend three of the next four seasons below to unfreeze 2032, while two years out of the tax resets the repeater penalty. Using Tatum’s hiatus to reset those clocks could put the team in the best position to contend when he returns. But they’ll rely on facilitators like Brooklyn to move off money, or larger trades emerging. That could lead to some painful moves.

So expect the Celtics to do everything they can to get under the second apron this summer and to stay under the second apron over the next handful of seasons.