Getty New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday
Following the news of Anthony Davis requesting a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, speculation ran wild. But among the chatter of where Davis could potentially be moved and what type of return the team could get for him, one other name stood out – guard Jrue Holiday. For the 28-year-old, the situation with his teammate potentially leaving town is a tough one.
Holiday signed a five-year, $131,805,000 deal with the Pelicans ahead of the 2017-18 season, per Spotrac. The decision to re-sign with the team he’s had an impressive amount of success with helped create a duo that many hoped could push the Pelicans to the next level.
But as Holiday revealed on Monday, shortly after the trade request of Davis came to light, his reasoning for staying in New Orleans was largely about sticking with his All-Star teammate. Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate first reported Holiday’s comments.
Holiday said AD is “90 percent of the reason I stayed”.
Kushner also revealed that Holiday said he has no hard feelings towards Davis and that he knows the forward is doing what’s best for his family.
Jrue Holiday Trade Chatter
Not surprisingly, the talk of a potential trade of Holiday came up shortly after the Davis trade news. This happened even prior to the comments the guard made on Monday afternoon, and stem from the potential rebuild the Pelicans could be poised to go through.
If New Orleans chooses to move a few big contracts along with their star forward in an effort to restart in free agency and the NBA draft, Holiday would make sense as a candidate. But the fact he openly stated that his interest in staying with the Pelicans had to do with Davis only adds to the intrigue of a potential deal.
As Jonathan Macri of Knicks Film School pointed out, the idea of Holiday picking up trade interest this summer could be a very real possibility.
The potential for a trade of Holiday could realistically come at any point, and if the Pelicans choose to go this route, he’d almost immediately become a top target for many teams. The 6-foot-4 guard has proven capable of playing at an extremely high level even when Davis is sidelined. Holiday’s appeal is there, but now it’s a waiting game to see if all of this leads to a second Pelicans star landing on the trade block.
Jrue Holiday’s Excellent Play With Pelicans
Holiday has consistently improved his game over the years, and it’s culminated in back-to-back seasons which qualify as the two best of his career. After averaging 19.0 points, 6.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in 2017-18, many were curious how he’d adjust to a full season of playing with a few new faces.
Although the Pelicans acquired Elfrid Payton and Nikola Mirotic previously, they also added Julius Randle this offseason. Not only has Holiday had success with the additional talent, but he’s thrived while posting the best numbers of his career. Through 50 games this season, the 28-year-old is averaging career bests in points (21.2), assists (8.1) and rebounds (4.9) while shooting 48.1 percent from the field.
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