Jrue Holiday, Celtics Have 'Interest' in New Contract Sooner Than Later

Photo/Sports Illustrated

The Boston Celtics and guard Jrue Holiday are reportedly determined to reach a long-term contract extension deal "sooner rather than later."

"He is eligible on April 1st, he's already eligible now but he, this sounds funky, he gets more eligible April 1st. There's fewer limits on what he can sign April 1st. And I do think that there's interest on both sides to get something done sooner rather than later. Whether they do or not I don't know," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective.

Boston and Jrue Holiday have been playing a waiting game until April 1st to get serious about an extension. League rules place restrictions on the type of extension a player can sign for his first six months after a trade, and Holiday officially became a Celtic on October 1st.

Holiday has publicly expressed an interest in getting a deal done.

"I think everybody kind of knows we're set and we're set for a long period," Holiday told MassLive's Brian Robb. "No matter what happens, you are going to come back here with the same guys for the most part. Things happen but I think you lock into that, being able to have that comfortability and just kind of that pressure off of you about what's next."

Photo/Celtics

The defensive minded veteran guard is averaging 12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in his first year with the Celtics. He's largely taken on a secondary role offensively with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis handling the brunt of the scoring load, but Holiday remains a stellar, versatile defender and he's knocking down a career-high 44.5 percent of his threes this season. Not to mention the success this team has had so far this year.

With all major core pieces under contract through next season, adding at least one or two years to Holiday's deal would make a great deal of sense.