Ahead of his first matchup against his former team the Milwaukee Bucks this season, Jrue Holiday says there are no hard feelings about being traded for superstar Damian Lillard back in September that eventually landed him in Boston.
Jrue Holiday Speaks on Milwaukee Bucks Trade
When Holiday met with reporters on Wednesday, he said that there aren’t any grudges being towards the Bucks, and he feels that they “got what they wanted.”
“A warning would’ve been cool. But other than that, I’m in the best place that I can be to compete against them, which is for the top team in the East and, hopefully, the top team in the league.”
Holiday spent three seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks after being acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans. He was a pivotal player in the Bucks bringing home a championship for the first time in nearly 50 years. He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers just days before training camp for Damian Lillard. But a few days later, Holiday was sent to Boston in another trade package.
Upon being traded, Jrue Holiday’s wife, Lauren Holiday, took to Instagram to talk about the personal toll it took on their family and how there was no warning of a deal coming ahead of time.
“This isn’t new. We’ve been traded before. Each time we’ve felt something different but his time it crushed me,” said Holiday. “I’m sharing this so people can see the humans behind the business transactions. Because contrary to the cliche, it’s personal, meaning there are people’s lives that are affected. It’s never ‘just business.'”
Holiday’s wife then goes on to say how Milwaukee was home; Their daughter had just started first grade, their son starting preschool, going to school with other Bucks children. She also mentioned how her husband had went down for a nap, woke up, and found out he had been traded.
Even former teammates say it’s going to be a little weird seeing Holiday in a different shade of green. Khris Middleton commenting on how it might be hard to get used to.
“It’s going to be weird seeing him in a Celtic uniform, but I guess we got to get used to it,” Middleton said. “But it’s going to be fun competing against him. We’ve had a lot of great battles together, so I know what he’s about on the Celtics’ side. I think it should be a fun, interesting matchup for sure.”
Holiday Speaks on His Time With the Bucks
Jrue Holiday told ESPN that Milwaukee will ‘always have a piece of my heart’. But also talks about how he is ready to turn to the next page and put his sole focus on the Celtics.
“I think it’s been about the same once I got traded,” Holiday said. “We do know that this is a business, and from a business standpoint, I’m in a very good position to be where I want to be, and that’s to win a championship. So again, still happy to be here. None of that has ever changed.”
Wednesday is the first meeting of the top two Eastern Conference contenders. The Boston Celtics will host the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 PM EST. You can watch it on ESPN.
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