Jrue Holiday is headed back east. The Celtics acquired the two-time All-Star guard in a deal with the Trail Blazers on Sunday, sending Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, and two-first round picks to Portland. Holiday was traded to the Blazers as part of the Damian Lillard trade, and now he’s headed to one of his former team’s biggest rivals. Portland

The franchise arguably—I said arguably!—most impacted by the three-team stunner that sent Damian Lillard to the Bucks is the Heat. Miami was Lillard’s preferred destination when he requested a trade in July. Instead, the Heat, which surprisingly made the Finals as the eight seed in June, are left scrambling to upgrade

For once—and perhaps just this once—it doesn’t feel like the media is leading the franchise player by the tail. So often, the critiques levied against talking heads are that they pull certain levers and build narratives about small-market superstars to create headlines and draw higher TV ratings. But in this latest

A quick note as we move towards the start of NBA training camps: I’ll be doing a Mailbag here every week, so if you have got questions, send them my way on X or Instagram. Longer ones to mannixmailbag@gmail.com. Let ‘er rip. What’s with the Sixers love on the podcast?

James Harden’s favorite plays have long been the step-back three and the drive that gets him to the free throw line, but now he has a third: the bomb thrown at management. Hey, as the great ones get older, they expand their game. Harden detonated his way out of Houston.