The Jrue Holiday Introductory Press Conference Was Pure Unadultered Celtics Porn
There are few things that get the blood flowing quite like the introductory press conference of a star player joining your favorite team. Even if all the answers are your standard boiler plate/PR/pandering responses, who gives a shit. I want to be pandered to. I want to be told what I want to hear. That's the whole point of these things as far as I'm concerned. Fill up our collective glasses with that sweet sweet ice cold Celtics Kool Aid and let's get this shit started.
It's what happened with Porzingis
and now today we have Jrue Holiday. I have to say, listening to everything Holiday said today absolutely gave me a raging Porzingis in my pants, and I have a feeling I am not alone in that. Let's just take it from the top
You got that right Jrue. We're told all the time about how the Celts aren't a destination and how players don't want to come to Boston, only for this summer to happen where both Porzingis and Jrue had the Celts atop of their list. Why? Because they are true contenders. I don't care what the narratives are. If you build a winner and actually knock on the door of a title, the talent will come.
I also couldn't help but love that little nugget about Joe sending Jrue defensive clips about 2 seconds after the trade. That is the exact reason why Joe is the perfect type of psycho. He's locked in and then some.
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Look at how Brad is smiling at Jrue. That my friends is the look of a man that finally landed his white whale. Brad told us after the deal went down that he would go into Ainge's office and ask if he could trade for Holiday. If that look felt familiar, it's because we've seen it before
Of course there's more to that clip than just Brad's love stare. The conversation around not only trading for Jrue, but then also extending him is just as important. Given the price the Celts paid to bring him in, they now have to cut the check to not just keep Holiday, but also White. Wyc once again said he's willing to spend so this is going to be another chance for him to live up to it.
I also noticed how glowingly he spoke of Brad and the entire organization's openness and communication. Given what the outside world says about this front office, it seems like players understand this is not the Danny Ainge era anymore. Brad clearly tells it like it is.
Jrue gets us. That's an important first step.
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Nothing is more important in the pursuit of an NBA title than how committed the owner is. Everything starts at the top. Mentioning that he feels the Celts opporunity is 6 years is also very significant because it tells us that Wyc is completely prepared to blow through that 2nd apron.
While I certainly don't want to stick up for billionaires, I do think Wyc deserves credit for this. During his entire tenture, when his team has had a legit shot at a title, he's spent whatever it took to get it. Time will tell of course with the Holiday/White/Tatum extensions on deck, but we have no reason to think he won't.
This may have been my favorite part of the whole thing. As Brad says, everything the Celtics do is about enhancing their two best players. Every single thing Jrue said he could do is exactly what I think we all want to see.
If we want to be serious about it, in my opinion the best way Jrue can help this team is end of game situations. I think he's reached the level of status where he can demand the ball to initiate. So often we've seen the Celts offense bog down late and turn into complete dogshit, and part of me feels like it was because everyone sort of bowed down to Tatum. If Jrue really wants to make things easier for the two best players, figure out the best situations/roles for everyone at the end of games. If that means he's off ball, then he needs to knock down his C&S 3PA at an acceptable rate and not in the low 30s we've seen over the last 3 years.
If that means speaking up and demanding the ball and getting everyone into their spots quicker so they can run faster sets and not stand around and watch, then do it. Given the fact that Jrue's an All Star talent, I feel like there might be more of a willingness to let him be that offense initiator late in games.
All in all, I'd say this presser was everything we as fans could have asked for. The vibes are high and the excitement is real. I don't know how if you root for this team you couldn't be over the moon with excitement after watching this thing.
Now it's time to see how it looks for real.