The New York Knicks acquire Jrue Holiday
Jrue Holiday is the perfect modern-day point guard. He is blessed with such a well-rounded skill set that virtually any team in the entire NBA could benefit from having him on the roster.
The New York Knicks, if they can pull off this trade would hope to be the beneficiary of his talent. Blessed with ideal point guard size 6-foot-3, Holiday is a perfect 3-and-D player. Capable of guarding both guard positions, Jrue Holiday is a tough defender who is going to make every single team he goes against work for every basket they make.
His ability to stay in front of his man whilst also having active hands allows him to be a nightmare to go against. Holiday rightfully gets praised for his defensive presence and ability but he does not get the necessary praise for what he is capable of doing on the offensive end.
Capable of averaging 20 points per game without breaking a sweat, Jrue Holiday is a problem when he has the ball in his hands. He is gifted with the perfect balance of shooting and playmaking. That is such a rare and valuable talent in today’s NBA.
Give him too much space, he is going to score, swarm him and pressure him and he is going to make the right pass for an easy bucket for his teammates. With coach Thibs, Jrue Holiday could be an absolute monster.
He is everything Thibs wants in a player and more. If the Knicks can make a trade for Holiday they should. The Knicks are blessed with the eighth overall pick, yes it most certainly could have been higher but it is what it is and they could potentially put that pick to good use.
In terms of players being exchanged, Wayne Ellington and Bobby Portis aren’t good enough to get a deal done but exchanging places in the draft could get a deal done between the two sides. Concerning the young players entering the 2020 NBA Draft, this is not a deep draft.
This is potentially a nine player draft with none showing All-NBA ability but numerous showing all-star ability. If the New Orleans Pelicans can make the switch and swap the 13th pick for the eighth pick, they could add a potential future all-star to their young roster.
Moving on from Jrue Holiday does two things for the Pelicans. It frees up cap space for Lonzo Ball’s extension next year and it also free’s up cap space period for the Pelicans in 2021 to add more depth to the roster.
Lonzo is the Pelicans point guard of the future if Zion Williamson has anything to say about it. The natural chemistry they both share and the similar age range will dictate that they are going to be partnered together for a long time.
While the Pelicans lose out on Holiday, they get the eighth pick, and picking up a player like Devin Vassell from Florida State would not only add a talented young player under contract for four years but it also adds a player who is going to fit in perfectly with this fun young team.
With Zion and Devin, you have two high flyers who are going to put on a show. Whilst the Pelicans grow and get better slowly but surely, they can focus on the team being extremely fun to watch.