Jordan Walsh wanted to learn from Jrue Holiday. The Celtics traded or the star defender, who began his NBA career in 2009, when Walsh was five-years-old, in September, 2023 after Boston drafted Walsh three months prior. Then, Walsh imagined how he would fit in next to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and set significant expectations for himself at 19. He wanted to play the perimeter like Boston’s stars.
“I think everybody noticed that whenever the (offensive player) is attacking him, he’s jumping and swiping at the same time,” Walsh recalled on The Garden Report this week. “Usually resulting in a steal like he did against the Pacers in the playoffs last year, that was huge. That’s the one that everybody remembers. That specific scenario, I’ve talked to him many times about. How does he do it so consistently, how does he know when to do it, how does he know the timing or how does he get it done? How does he execute it? That definitely is one of the biggest things for sure.”
Walsh wouldn’t comment on the reported Celtics trade that sent Holiday to the Trail Blazers on Monday, but focused on his former teammate as a friend and mentor. After acquiring Holiday in 2023, Boston established rare roster continuity and only lost Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk from the championship team. Later, the Celtics dealt Jaden Springer in 2025. Walsh spoke with a 2024 replica banner behind him in his Boston home, reflecting on the first significant trade that sent out a teammate.
The first two trade deadlines that Walsh experienced reinforced the anxiety many players feel around trade seasons. This summer brought more with reports that the team could break up following their second round loss to the Knicks. Walsh didn’t feel that immediately after the Game 6 loss in New York, just gratefulness that he shared the locker room with numerous stars who aided his growth in year two. His presence in Boston wasn’t the initial plan, as he expected to play most of 2024-25 in Maine again before a standout camp kept him around.
“One of the biggest memories, I would say, was us going to dinner, going to a Korean barbecue place or something like that in one city and we just sat down, we just talked,” Walsh said. “Obviously there were other guys there, but I was more of a sponge, just absorbing everything that they were saying, and everything that he was saying, whether it was basketball-related or off the court stuff. Just trying to find things that I could relate to, and there were a lot of messages in that.”
Hour after Walsh appeared on the podcast, the Celtics reportedly agreed to another deal that sent Kristaps Porziņģis to Atlanta. While those moves came together in recent days, Walsh prepared for his third Summer League with the Celtics at their facility in Boston. He’ll join Baylor Scheierman and Miles Norris as confirmed participants, while veterans Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford have been present around the facility. Ahead of draft night on Wednesday, Brown’s future remained uncertain, while Horford becomes a free agent next week.
This month became an eye-opener for Walsh at how different next season could look. He’s learned to not place expectations on himself to step into the roles that other players vacate. Last summer he wanted to expand his game at Summer League and show what could contribute in a larger role, and it led to struggles throughout the schedule. He overthought everything, and now wants to use next month to focus on being the best version of himself.
That’s all he can control as more roster changes inevitably loom, including the addition of another rookie today.
“I don’t know if it’s true,” Walsh said of the Holiday trade. “I have no clue. What I do know is that Jrue was definitely a mentor for me, for sure. He was definitely a guy that I looked up to and I would hate if he’s not in Boston or whatever the situation may be. I would hate for him to be away from us and the organization because he’s such a great guy and also such a great player. So obviously, I think anybody, if he were to take that step away from us, I feel like everybody would feel a hole that’s in our heart from Jrue. I think the fans would feel it, I think we would feel it, but yeah, obviously, if that does happen then I wish him the best.”
