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.

Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. Brad Stevens used that word seven times to explain the Celtics’ difficult offseason roster moves.

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.