Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, February 21, 2020. /CFP
The New Orleans Pelicans were willing to listen to trade offers for their starting guard Jrue Holiday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
"The New Orleans Pelicans are openly discussing star Jrue Holiday in trade talks and several contending teams are pursuing," posted Charania.
Though David Griffin, New Orleans' executive vice president of basketball operations, downplayed all trade talks over Holiday before last season and told Fox Sports Holiday New Orleans were "clearly not" looking to move Holiday, things seem to have changed.
From L to R: Zion Williamson (20 years old), Lonzo Ball (23 years old), Jrue Holiday (30 years old) and Brandon Ingram (23 years old) of the New Orleans Pelicans. /CFP
First, Holiday is already 30 years old and he can choose to opt-out of his five-year, 131-million-U.S.-dollar contract in 2021 summer. If New Orleans want to trade him for some valuable assets, they should gauge the market as Holiday just averaged 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in the 2019-20 season.
Second, Holiday need the ball in his hands to do what he does best. New Orleans already have Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Lonzo Ball for that.
Third, New Orleans already impressed the league with their offensive production – 115.8 points per game (5th in the NBA last season) at a pace of 103.7 (2nd in the NBA last season). What they need is a defensive improvement, especially inside. Despite a great defender Holiday has been, he cannot do a big man's job.
Jrue Holiday (L) of the New Orleans Pelicans defends Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Semifinals at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 6, 2018. /CFP
However, that does not mean Griffin will have difficulty finding buyers. On the contrary, what Holiday can do on the floor makes him a brilliant fit for several teams. He may not be the best orchestrator, but Holiday can pass – he averaged 6.4 assists per game so far in his career. He also has quite universal offensive skills. He can both charge the rim and fire from the middle- and long-range.
More importantly, Holiday is an elite defender. He was named the All-Defensive First and Second Team in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Individually Holiday can switch from point guard to small forward – he took on Damian Lillard and Kevin Durant in different series. As a team defender, Holiday knows both how to lure the target into a trap and when to double team.
Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans defends LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers in the game at the Smoothie King Center, November 27, 2019. /CFP
So which teams sound like they can use a guy like Holiday?
Los Angeles Lakers. The purple and gold showed the league how terrific the pair of LeBron James and Anthony Davis could be by winning the championship last season. Meanwhile, the team also realized that James could coexist with another ball-handler as well as the team's need for the second orchestrator. Rajon Rondo is good, but Holiday is better.
Denver Nuggets. Denver's 2020 playoff trip was a big happy surprise, and so was Jerami Grant, who gave the team the wing / forward solution they had been seeking for years. Nonetheless, Denver only have one Grant, and he most appeared in the two forward positions. The team could use another swingman to cover defense for Jamal Murray and be even better if he can take over orchestrating when Nikola Jokic is on break.
Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn do not have to worry about their offense when they have Kyrie Irving, Durant, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Caris LeVert. However, they should be concerned defensively because Irving, Dinwiddie, and LeVert do not make a reliable defense. Neither DeAndre Jordan nor Jarrett Allen can be trusted in a defensive mismatch. Holiday can add a better balance to Brooklyn's squad.