For the first time since his departure from the Milwaukee Bucks, Jrue Holiday will get to face off against his former teammates on the basketball court. The major difference, however, is he will now be on the opposing team as he looks to help the Boston Celtics take down the Bucks in Wednesday’s much-anticipated matchup.
Pat Connaughton Speaks Out on Jrue Holiday’s Milwaukee Bucks Exit
One player, in particular, who was significantly affected by Holiday’s exit is Pat Connaughton. The 30-year-old got brutally honest in a recent interview as he discussed the harsh reality behind the blockbuster trade — at least from Connaughton’s own perspective:
“I think everything plays a role in it,” Connaughton began, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Look man, you’re talking about the abruptness of it. You’re talking about nobody thinking or knowing or having any feel for it. It’s not free agency. It’s not a guy not signing back. It’s a guy that the day before there were quotes (in the Journal Sentinel) about him wanting to end his career here and how this organization reminded him of how much he wanted to play basketball and stuff of that nature. So, I think it’s one of those things where it all played a role in it. Look, three years ago, we won a championship.”
The counterargument to this is that the NBA is a business. That’s what they always say whenever the emotional or the personal side of player trades is brought up.
While this is true, the fact of the matter is you can’t completely ignore the human side in all this. At the end of the day, the players are not mere commodities that can be thrown around without taking their emotions into consideration.
“It just speaks to the nature of the NBA,” Connaughton continued. “It’s one of those leagues where anything can happen at any given time. You’ve got to understand it, you’ve got to know it, and I think we all do. But, you’re abruptly and cold-heartedly remined about it sometimes. And that’s just what we all signed up for.”
Connaughton is merely speaking facts here, but quite honestly, it’s sad to hear it when it comes directly from the players — regardless if we’ve listened to the same tune over and over again.
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