Celtics’ Jrue Holiday on Bucks’ Damian Lillard Trade: ‘A Warning Would’ve Been Cool’

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Ahead of his first game against the Milwaukee Bucks this season, Jrue Holiday doesn’t have any hard feelings about being traded for Damian Lillard and eventually landing with the Boston Celtics.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Holiday admitted a “warning would’ve been cool” but said he’s not mad.

“I think that they got what they wanted, so I can’t be mad at that. A warning would’ve been cool,” he said. “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.”

The Bucks acquired Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team deal that also involved the Phoenix Suns on Sept. 27.

Holiday was part of the package sent to Portland in the trade. The Blazers then flipped the two-time All-Star to the Celtics on Oct. 1.

Former U.S. women’s national soccer team star Lauren Holiday, Jrue’s wife, wrote in a post on Instagram about the personal toll that trades take on athletes and their families by noting their kids recently started school in Milwaukee and there was no “warning” ahead of time a deal was coming.

Milwaukee originally acquired Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans in November 2020. The 33-year-old had tremendous success with the Bucks, including helping them win an NBA title in his first season.

Holiday was named to the All-Defensive team in each of his three seasons with the Bucks and made his second career All-Star team during the 2022-23 campaign.

Despite the surprise upheaval of his life before the start of the season, Holiday has done a good job adjusting to the Celtics. He is averaging 12.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.

Boston enters the game with the NBA’s best record (11-3) and net rating (plus-10.8). Milwaukee is now tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference (10-4) with five straight wins after a slow start to the season.

Wednesday marks the first meeting of the season between the two Eastern Conference powerhouse clubs. The Celtics will host the Bucks at TD Garden with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Celtics’ Jrue Holiday on Bucks’ Damian Lillard Trade:

‘A Warning Would’ve Been Cool’