This ain't a scene

The East arms race continues apace with Jrue Holiday to the Celtics.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Programming Note

It’s October, so the newsletter is back to five days a week starting now.

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Somosierra; January Suchodolski; 1860

Step 2 of the Blazers’ Dame era teardown hit on Sunday as Portland traded Jrue Holiday to the Celtics for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, the Warriors’ 2024 first (protected 1-4) and the Celtics’ 2029 unprotected first.

This feels like a great return for the Blazers after receiving Holiday, Deandre Ayton, two swaps and a pick for Lillard in the first place. And they’ll probably still turn Brogdon and possibly Jerami Grant into more assets by the deadline. Three picks, two swaps, Ayton and Timelord. Nice work.

Meanwhile, all the attention is on the top of the Eastern Conference, where Boston met Milwaukee’s challenge almost immediately. This is an arms race between two teams that have been among the three best in the conference for about a half-decade now. This was a part of the risk the Bucks faced in trading Holiday to land Damian Lillard: Holiday stood a great chance of ending up on a rival since it was clear that Portland wouldn’t be keeping him around. This was probably the Bucks’ second worst outcome behind Miami landing Holiday.

Meanwhile meanwhile, the Celtics have bolstered their rotation this summer at the cost of their depth and draft cache. Let’s look at the key guys coming and going this offseason: