It could be easier than expected for the Celtics to trade Jrue Holiday

Based on a new report, the Boston Celtics may not need to shop around for a Jrue Holiday trade -- the deal could come to them.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein at The Stein Line, the Dallas Mavericks will make a run at an offseason trade for Holiday. Credit is due to Sports Hub regular Brian Robb, who at MassLive described the Stein report as the Mavs being "expected to explore a trade pathway to Holiday this summer." The Mavs are likely to be in the market for a veteran point guard, after trading Luka Doncic and losing Kyrie Irving to a torn ACL.

The problem is that both teams are over the cap, meaning they'd need to match the money going each way. On top of that, the Celtics are above the second luxury tax apron and the Mavericks are above the first, meaning they're both even more restricted in how they can structure trades for money-matching purposes. The incoming salary for both teams needs to be matched within 110%, while the Celtics additionally can't combine Holiday's contract with others, use cash considerations, or trade draft picks more than seven years out.

^{Jrue Holiday}

But, it's doable if the Mavs send back money in the range of $29,454,545.50 to $32.4 million. They could feasibly package big man Daniel Gafford, forward Caleb Martin, and guard Jaden Hardy, which would come to $29.9 million. But if we're being honest, the NBA's salary cap rules are so convoluted that there could be an unexpected snag that makes this trade not-so-easy for either side.

The whole issue for the Celtics, here, is that this specific deal wouldn't solve their tax problem. They need to shed more than $20 million in payroll just to get under the second apron. They'd need to cut about $32 million more to get under the first apron. So, they'd be far from done after making a trade like this.

But there's a long-term benefit to getting Holiday's contract off the books. He's signed for not just next season but the next three seasons at an AAV of $34.8 million. Year 3 of that is a player option for $37.2M, but one would think that's going to be a worthwhile payday for a guard who will be 37 years old at that time.

^{L-R: Jrue Holiday, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla}

Of the three aforementioned Mavs players, one is only signed through next season (Gafford for $14.3 million). Martin and Hardy are both signed for the next three seasons, but for no more than $16M combined in any given year.

So, while Boston would still have work to do after moving Holiday's contract to another cap-strapped club, financial relief could still be on the horizon. This all illustrates how challenging this summer is going to be for Celtics president of basketball ops Brad Stevens.

But for Holiday, in particular, they might not have to look too hard for a team willing to take on his contract.