What a Jrue Holiday trade could mean for Knicks' future
It’s a Holiday weekend for several teams around the NBA.
The question many teams are asking themselves right now: how much would we give up for Jrue Holiday? Could we give Holiday an extension?
We all know Holiday is available via trade. Several teams interested in Holiday believe he prefers to be in a situation where he can win and potentially sign an extension. Will Portland send Holliday to a destination of his choice? I don’t know. Entering the weekend, the Knicks and Clippers were among a presumably large group of teams with known interest in Holiday.
The Knicks have the draft capital to make a strong offer. They can send out several different combinations of players to make the math work.
Does the 33-year-old fit New York’s timeline?
That’s up for debate. But if you know anything about the Knicks, you know it would be frowned upon if they took a step backwards this season after last year’s 47-win campaign. The Knicks need to win games. Holiday is one of the NBA’s top defenders. So he would certainly help the Knicks from that perspective.
Whether he helps the Knicks’ win total depends, in part, on who the club sends out in a hypothetical trade.
Portland, presumably, values draft capital at the moment. The Knicks own the rights to four future first-round picks (most of them are significantly protected). They also have all of their own first-rounders moving forward.
If the Knicks acquire Holiday, they’d do so with the idea of extending him or re-signing him as a free agent.
So New York would have a backcourt of Holiday and Jalen Brunson locked in for several seasons.
If the Knicks don’t land Holiday, the next best thing for the franchise is that he ends up on a Western Conference team.
If Boston, Philadelphia or Miami land Holiday, it strengthens an Eastern Conference contender.
The Damian Lillard deal to Milwaukee was a blow to New York. It gave Milwaukee one of the best duos in the league in Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. And it increased the chances that Antetokounmpo remains in Milwaukee beyond his current contract.
It also left the Knicks with a decision. How aggressive should they be in pursuit of Holiday? We could find out the answer to that question in the coming days.
LILLARD AND NETS
Lillard included the Bucks and Nets on his list of teams prior to the trade to Milwaukee, sources confirmed. That’s good news for the Nets for a few reasons. Nate Jones, an agent and marketer at Goodwin Sports, which represents Lillard, wrote on Twitter that Lillard put the Nets on his list because he wanted to play with Mikal Bridges and he believed in Ben Simmons bouncing back.
If a player of Lillard’s caliber and intellect believes Simmons can bounce back, that bodes well for Brooklyn. Also, the idea that a player like Lillard wants to play with Bridges is great news for Brooklyn.
