Jrue Holiday To Clippers, Sixers, Nets, Warriors Or Bucks?
Jrue Holiday To Clippers, Sixers, Nets, Warriors Or Bucks?
Five teams who will contend for the NBA title next year have interest in acquiring New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday.
The teams in question: the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks.
Holiday, 30, is currently midway through a 5-year, $131.8 million contract. He is due to make $25.4 million next season and $26.3 million the following year. In 2021-22 he has a player option, and then he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2022.
According to Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, the Clippers, Sixers, Nets, Warriors and Bucks will all take a close look at him.
Clippers are another team who have interest in Pelicans guard, Jrue Holiday.
That narrows the list of interest to Nets, Sixers, Warriors, Bucks & Clippers. pic.twitter.com/cw15Ltalcr
— 👑📍Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, M.A. (@ScoopB) September 21, 2020
On Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic did a deep dive into the Clippers’ collapse in the second round of the playoffs and plans going forward. One of the key takeaways from his piece is that the organization will target a playmaker this offseason.
Holiday, although typically recognized as more of a combo guard, is an excellent playmaker and effective scorer.
This year, he averaged 19.1 points and 6.7 assists per outing. Since 2017, Holiday has produced his three highest scoring years.
While Holiday would clearly be a great asset for LA, getting him is a tall order. In order to feasibly facilitate a deal for him, the Clippers would likely have to part ways with Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams and some combination of smaller salaries.
Even the players were confused. https://t.co/4D4hJsUwzI
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 21, 2020
If not Los Angeles, the Sixers would also make a ton of sense. According to Kevin McCormick of 97.3 ESPN, there is some level of “interest” in Holiday from Philly brass. How much interest, precisely, remains unclear.
Holiday would immediately upgrade the 76ers’ starting lineup, and would instantly turn the back court into one of the most defensively intimidating in the league.
Presumably, the only legitimate way a deal like this can occur is if Philly parts ways with either Tobias Harris or Al Horford. Would New Orleans want either guy at this stage? The answer to that will ultimately make or break any potential deal.
Dwight Howard is playing a dangerous game. https://t.co/G8r8DLADIU
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 21, 2020
Brooklyn makes for another intriguing possibility. Robinson previously reported that Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen or Dzanan Musa, along with a protected first rounder, would have to be involved in the package.
Nets star, Kevin Durant, is particularly high on Holiday’s skills.
“You put Jrue in any system, any coach is going to ask him to guard the best player,” he said on JJ Redick’s podcast recently.
“We played them in 2018, second round and he guarded me the whole series. He was picking me up full court, he was guarding me in the post. Actually, it was tough to dribble on Jrue Holiday. He slides his feet so well, he’s got good hands, he’s strong, he’s got good instincts.
A tough situation all around. https://t.co/R0ufvolXKE
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 20, 2020
“I gained a lot of respect for him in that series because he went from guarding me to Klay (Thompson) to Steph (Curry) to guarding Draymond (Green), neutralizing picks and rolls. He’s special. He’s special on that side of the ball.”
Golden State is another option. According to NBC Sports’ Tom Haberstroh, expect the Warriors to make a serious push to bring in Holiday.
“I think they are going to obviously try to get Jrue Holiday in New Orleans,” he said.
“Jrue Holiday is an elite perimeter defender, he may not have made All-Defense but I think he is right up there with the best perimeter defenders in the league, and I think he’d be a great fit next to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
“He’s not going to come cheaply, so in order to get someone like Jrue Holiday, you’ll have to give up assets, and certainly David Griffin would be asking for a boatload of whatever the Golden State Warriors have.”
Yikes Paul George. https://t.co/cbudiW6cI7
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 21, 2020
Finally, don’t sleep on Milwaukee. After this year’s flameout versus the Miami Heat, clearly something needs to be done.
The Bucks would likely need to package some combination of Eric Bledsoe, Donte DiVincenzo, Robin Lopez an a 2022 first rounder to make this thing happen.
One way or another, it doesn’t appear like Holiday will be in New Orleans much longer. He is a talented veteran on a team in the beginning stages of a long rebuild. The Pelicans will almost certainly ship him off – the question at this point is simply where.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.