NBA: Stephen Curry headlines a redrafting of the 2009 draft class

4. Sacramento Kings – Jrue Holiday, UCLA

With the fourth pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select Jrue Holiday, from UCLA.

It was a tough decision between who went at No. 4 and who went No. 5. But because of Jrue’s versatility and defense, I gave him the edge over DeMar DeRozan.

Holiday’s career averages are 15.9 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game on 45-36-78 shooting and a PER of 16.9. And over the last three seasons, his numbers have ascended as he entered his prime. Since 2017, Holiday has averaged 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals per game, on 48 percent shooting from the field.

Jrue’s resume includes an NBA All-Star team and two All-Defensive teams. He can do it all. He has the ability to effectively and efficiently run an offense on one end of the floor and is able to guard the other team’s best player on the other end. And since Lonzo Ball and company came to New Orleans, Jrue has been able to transition from the point guard to the shooting guard position seamlessly, playing off the ball more and allowing Lonzo to run the offense.

Jrue Holiday has the ability to play multiple positions on offense, and the ability to defend multiple positions on defense. And he does so at an elite level. His All-Star numbers are surely low due to most of his career being played in the Western Conference. If he would have stayed in the East, there is no doubt in my mind that Jrue would have multiple more All-Star appearances on his resume. But the personal accolades aren’t everything when it comes to the way a career is defined. Jrue Holiday is awesome.

In the class of 2009 redraft, Jrue Holiday goes fourth to the Kings.