And for the first time since the trade, Holiday acknowledged it with an Instagram story. “Thank you Boston” the story said, which included a picture of Holiday wearing the Celtics championship hat after they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.

Brad Stevens couldn’t – and wouldn’t – address the Celtics’ decisions to trade Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis during his draft-night news conference. NBA rules prevented him from doing so since those deals can’t become official until July 6.

The Blazers agreed to deal 26-year-old guard Anfernee Simons to the Celtics earlier this week, and the reasoning for the deal on Boston's side of the trade was about as clear as it gets. The Celtics were looking at one of the largest repeater tax bills in NBA history if they did not reduce salary on their 2024 title core.