When the Milwaukee Bucks decided to trade away Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers this past summer, the players had all sorts of reactions as soon as the news broke. Generally, though, the feeling was bittersweet.
The arrival of Damian Lillard was a monumental win for the Bucks, but at the same time, losing such an instrumental piece of the squad in Holiday was an undeniably tough pill to swallow.
Bobby Portis Recalls Milwaukee Bucks’ Jrue Holiday Trade
Bobby Portis remembers the trade as if it happened yesterday. The veteran big man admits that thinking about Holiday’s exit brings back some pretty sour memories:
“It was just like, damn, you’re kind of hurt at first,” Portis said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Like, damn, big brother…He hits me up all the time, checks on me and things like that. S—, times go on I guess.”
What Portis also remembers is the key role Holiday played in Milwaukee’s championship run a couple of years back. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that without Jrue, the Bucks probably would not have gone all the way that season.
“S—, ‘Knocked away and stolen by Holiday,’” Portis said with a smile, referencing Hall of Fame announcer Mike Breen’s iconic call on Jrue’s series-defining steal against Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
“It’s kind of hard to get out your head, you feel me? It’s our brother. When you play ball in the Fiserv Forum and we tip up and you look up at the championship, you can’t help but think about him you feel me? Obviously it’s weird.”
Portis will get to face off against Holiday for the first time since the trade on Wednesday when the Bucks travel to Bean Town to battle the Boston Celtics. By his own admission, Portis still hasn’t fully come to terms that his former teammate is now with the enemy:
“I watch Celtics games and look at him and see him in No. 4 with a sleeve on,” Portis said. “All that s— is just mad weird to me. But it’s part of the game, part of the league.”
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