We’ve heard names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ben Simmons, Bradley Beal and even Joel Embiid connected to the Warriors as possible trade targets. Another player who makes plenty of sense for Golden State reportedly is available, and general manager Bob Myers could have his eyes on him.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday morning that New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday has been discussed in trade talks with multiple contending teams. Are the Warriors one of those teams? They should be.
Holiday, 30, is a versatile guard who can lockdown nearly any position on the floor defensively and is a more than capable shooter from long distance. This past season, Holiday averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 35.3 percentage on 3-pointers. He’s 6-foot-3 with a 6-foot-7 wingspan and can go from picking up a point guard full court to being a pest to a big man trying to post him up.
That sounds like a dream player for Steve Kerr. NBC Sports’ Tom Haberstroh saw the fit for Holiday in the Bay Area back in September as well.
“I think they are going to obviously try to get Jrue Holiday in New Orleans,” Haberstroh speculated to NBC Sports Bay Area. “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.”
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Holiday isn’t a ball-dominant guard by any means. There’s no reason he couldn’t share the court with Curry and Thompson and feed off them while also being a star on the defensive side of the ball. But he certainly would cost a lot.
The Southern California native signed a five-year contract with the Pelicans that’s worth over $131 million back in July 2017. He’s owed over $50 million, so a big contract like Andrew Wiggins would have to be sent to New Orleans, likely along with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Like any star, though, you have to give up a lot to add a player like Holiday.
Perhaps the Warriors are set on keeping their top draft pick and taking a young player for the future. Maybe they really like Wiggins as much as they say. The reality is, however, this team wants to get back to the top in a hurry while competing in a loaded Western Conference and Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green all are on the wrong side of 30 years old.
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The Warriors didn’t open Chase Center to be a team in the middle of the pack. We know how Joe Lacob works. He wants to win now, but he has to be able to pay up to make that happen and re-start the dynasty while he still can.
Holiday isn’t a superstar. He also just might be the perfect fit for the Warriors’ core.
It’s time for Myers to make a call to the Pelicans and try to make this happen.
