This is how you know we're in the dead part of the NBA offseason. There are X (Twitter) accounts tweeting about hypothetical trades between the New York Knicks and Celtics. We will see more off-the-wall offseason content until the two teams start the season in two months.
For whatever reason, there has been an ongoing social media debate about Jalen Brunson and Jrue Holiday. On Friday afternoon, a Celtics fan account posed a scenario involving the two rival guards that made its rounds on Knicks Twitter.
Imagine you’re Brad Stevens.
— CelticsUnite (@CelticsUnite18) August 23, 2024
The Knicks have just offered you Jalen Brunson for Jrue Holiday straight up.
Are you accepting the deal?
I’m trying to see something.
The user didn't imply that Holiday is better than Brunson. They said that Brunson is the better player, but they wouldn't want Brad Stevens to swap Holiday for the star Knicks point guard because "you don't break up a team like the Celtics."
Some New York fans took it as a slight against Brunson when it was nothing more than a silly question. Why would Stevens break up a championship squad that returned its starting five and key role players? The Celtics lucked out when the Bucks traded Holiday to the Trail Blazers as part of the Damian Lillard deal because it allowed Boston to trade for the guard.
No, the Celtics wouldn't trade Jrue Holiday for Jalen Brunson
If the above question were posed to Brunson on the 'Roommates Show' podcast, he'd probably immediately laugh. He and Holiday are different players. It's a trade that would never happen, so it's not worth considering. Brunson is a great player. Holiday is a great player. It's okay to admit that both things are true. Would Leon trade Brunson for Holiday? Absolutely not.
Knicks fans understandably automatically dislike Holiday because he plays for the Celtics, but they should thank him for Donte DiVincenzo. The New York guard revealed that before he made his 2023 free agency decision, he talked to Holiday and his wife, Lauren, who helped seal the deal.
“Donte called Jrue at midnight and we were in bed. I just said, ‘He has to take the contract,’ Lauren said. “Jrue was like, ‘My wife has spoken.’”
— Daily Knicks (@DailyKnicksFS) May 21, 2024
Lauren Holiday was a "huge voice" in DiVincenzo's 2023 free agency decision.
(via The Athletic) pic.twitter.com/8lxsgndvRl
It was fun to watch Holiday compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics and help Team USA win another gold, but he's back to being the enemy. The Knicks hope to spoil Holiday and the Celtics' ring night when they travel to Boston on Oct. 22. Our bet is on Brunson and New York!