Bucks: Jrue Holiday’s wife shares heartbreaking message over blockbuster trade

Former US Women’s National Team player Lauren Holiday shared an emotional message after Jrue Holiday was traded from the Bucks to the Celtics.

Former Milwaukee Bucks star Jrue Holiday has already turned the page toward helping the Boston Celtics win their first championship since 2008. As his family prepares to follow him to Boston, though, Holiday’s wife, Lauren, shared a heartfelt message on social media about the massive emotional toll player trades take on their kin and community. 

“I am sharing this so people can see the humans behind the business transactions. Because contrary to the cliche, it’s personal, meaning there are people’s lives that are affected. It’s never ‘just business,’” Lauren Holiday, a former member of the US Women’s National Soccer Team, wrote on Instagram. “On Wednesday, my husband took a nap. He woke up to news that he had been moved. No warning, no heads up, not even a conversation that it could be a possibility. Just, it’s done. Now move on because ‘it’s not personal, it’s business…’

“So, yes, this is more than business,” Lauren Holiday continued. “Not because we’re offended by it but, because we are people, we’re humans, we have relationships, dreams, and a connection where we play. As I write this, we are grieving the loss of that while celebrating the hope and joy of what’s ahead. The growth is in allowing ourselves to feel this pain now and turn it into power for how we move forward. That’s who we are and that’s who we always will be.”

Jrue Holiday was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers last week in exchange for Damian Lillard, ending his three-year tenure with the Bucks. The stalwart veteran guard didn’t pack his bags for Rip City, though, knowing he’d be moved elsewhere as the Blazers embark on a long-awaited, full-scale rebuild. Holiday was sent to Boston on October 1st, where he’ll play this season and likely many more after signing a contract extension or new deal in free agency next summer.

The Holidays and their young kids—who attended school with the children of other Bucks players—can take solace from knowing that Beantown is poised to be home for the next few years. A sense of community can be built anywhere. But the special connections they made in Milwaukee won’t be perfectly duplicated, and while their local charitable endeavors will surely live on, there’s a difference for the Holidays and the many they’ve helped between Jrue and Lauren being on the ground and continuing to effect change from afar.

No one is crying for the Holidays, and Lauren isn’t asking the masses for sympathy as her husband prepares to sign another nine-figure contract. But professional athletes and their families aren’t much different from anyone else when they’re suddenly re-located for work. Kudos to Lauren Holiday for drawing attention to that mostly overlooked reality.