Veteran guard Jrue Holiday, who was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in Wednesday’s blockbuster Damian Lillard trade, may not stay with his new squad for long.
The 33-year-old is a candidate to be moved again, and according to a report, teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat are among several organizations that interest him.
Am told Heat, LA teams, Boston,Chi., Philly are teams of interest to Holiday. (Perhaps others, but those 6 in no order were mentioned to me). Beyond Portland distaste for Heat assets, Miami must reconcile this: Acquiring&giving big new deal next summer makes them tax team for yrs
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 28, 2023
By the looks of it, Holiday seemingly wants to join a contending team. The Blazers likely won’t be contenders in the immediate future, so if the two-time All-Star wants to challenge for another title, it may need to happen with a different team.
Holiday won a championship in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks and may be looking to add another ring to his collection.
Flipping Holiday for some assets would also make sense from Portland’s perspective. The team has no shortage of young talent in its backcourt, meaning Holiday’s services would perhaps be more valuable elsewhere in the NBA.
The Lakers probably feel good about the current state of their roster after a very productive summer. However, a chance to add a player like Holiday doesn’t come around all the time, so L.A. may want to explore its options regarding a possible trade for him.
The Heat, meanwhile, are an interesting team to monitor for Holiday due to their disappointing finish in the Lillard sweepstakes.
“Miami doesn’t have a choice but to try and get in on the Holiday sweepstakes,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype. “How funny would it be for Miami to give Portland their Lillard package for Jrue?”
Miami made the NBA Finals last season but has had a quiet offseason while many other contenders have improved.
“The thing about Pat Riley is he doesn’t care about public perception,” another executive told HoopsHype. “If he thinks the move will make the team better, he’ll do it and won’t care about the optics if he missed on a guy previously.”
Holiday averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game last season while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from beyond the arc. He’s also one of the league’s best defenders and has been named All-Defense five times.
Assuming the Blazers do send him to another team at some point in the near future, Holiday could end up playing a key role in this season’s title race. Whether that helps or hurts the Lakers remains to be seen as they try to make another deep playoff run.
