How could a Jrue Holiday trade come to fruition for Sixers, Trail Blazers?
The Milwaukee Bucks rocked the NBA world on Wednesday when they acquired Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers in a 3-team deal that also included the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks were able to get their superstar running mate next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Blazers begin a rebuild.
In return for Lillard, the Trail Blazers received All-Star Jrue Holiday as part of the deal. However, Portland is not expected to keep the five-time All-Defensive Team player and therefore, there is a line of teams looking to acquire the lead guard.
The Philadelphia 76ers are one of those teams as they have expressed interest in bringing back Holiday. The Sixers selected Holiday in the 2009 NBA draft and he spent his first four seasons with the franchise.
What does a potential Holiday trade look like? Let’s dive into it.
Could a straight-up deal work?
Holiday is due to make $36.8 million in the upcoming season. The Sixers do have a player to make that work in James Harden who, obviously, wants out. Harden will make $35.6 million in the coming season.
Harden alone matches for Holiday so the Sixers wouldn’t need to send any other players back. The big question is if they’d need to include any additional value, but they may feel that a swap involving both players is fair considering their similar age and equally productive seasons last year.
The big issue with that option is that Harden wouldn’t want anything to do with the Trail Blazers and the whole league knows it. He wants to go to the Los Angeles Clippers. Which then leads to the next option.
A possible 3-team deal
Harden wants to go to the Clippers. The Sixers want in on Holiday. An option is that both Portland and Philadelphia rope the Clippers into this deal and they do a 3-team deal with The Beard headed to LA, Holiday to Philadelphia, and a combination of picks headed to Portland.
If the Sixers could turn Harden into a motivated and defensive-minded guard in Holiday, then that would be a big get for President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. The big question then becomes whether the Clippers completely forget the pursuit of Harden and then turn to Holiday on their own.
What's at stake?
While Joel Embiid is nowhere near the point of requesting his own trade, it is important that the Sixers nail this type of deal down. Holiday would fix a lot of Philadelphia’s issues such as leadership and perimeter defense, and he is a calming influence in the locker room. His game also translates to postseason basketball which is invaluable in today’s game. His championship experience with the Bucks would come in handy.
If they can turn a frustrated Harden into a guy like Holiday, then that would be a big win for the franchise. It would also likely keep Embiid happy as the Sixers would stay in the arms race in the Eastern Conference with the Bucks and the Boston Celtics.
