‘I’m deep in this nap’: How Jrue Holiday found out he was traded

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was taking a nap when his agent called.

On Sep. 27, the Portland Trail Blazers traded All-Star guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-way deal that sent Holiday, Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara to Portland, along with a handful of draft rights. This came after Lillard requested a trade from the Blazers in July.

Four days later, Portland traded Holiday to the Celtics in exchange for Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks — one via the Golden State Warriors — according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Holiday said he was in a deep sleep when Bucks general manager Jon Hurst called to inform him of the first trade.

“I’m taking a nap, I see the text, I see the call from the GM and I’m like ‘I’ll call him back’ like, I’m deep in this nap,” Holiday said on “The Draymond Green Show.”

Moments later, Holiday received a call from his agent, Jason Glushon, about the trade, urging Holiday to return Hurst’s call.

“Two seconds later, my agent called me. So I pick up his call [and] he’s like, ‘You talk to him?'” Holiday said.

A freshly awake Holiday reiterated that he didn’t talk to Hurst because he was sleeping.

“He’s like, ‘Well, you just got traded, so you should probably call him back,'” Holiday said his agent told him.

Holiday called Hurst back, where he laid out the trade details for Lillard. For Holiday, it was frustrating that he was informed so suddenly.

“It was just a shock because at least let me know 24 hours in advance, not five minutes in advance. … I mean, we won. I won there,” Holiday said.

Holiday won the 2021 NBA Finals with the Bucks, where they defeated the Phoenix Suns 4-2. He is averaging 12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Celtics.