NBA Trade Rumors: 9 teams that should be interested in Jrue Holiday

Denver Nuggets

If Michael Porter Jr. is off the table in trade discussions, this trade doesn’t get done.

MPJ rivals the Warriors draft pick as one of the best assets a team can get back in a deal but unlike that pick, the team isn’t likely to trade him as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported in October when speaking on The Hoop Collective podcast.

The trade offer for Jrue ends up being one of Gary Harris or Will Barton plus some future draft compensation that, considering how well the Nuggets have been playing, is late in the first round. There are better offers out there without even begging too hard.

Interestingly, the Nuggets tried to get Jrue at the deadline according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (subscription required), but those talks fizzled out when the Pels didn’t want to part ways with him. Who knows if MPJ was offering back before the deadline, he has only played better since then so it’s unlikely.

Do the Pelicans even want him though? Yes, he looks to be a very solid, if not a great player for years to come, but what would he look like next to Brandon Ingram, a similar player. Or better yet, what would their defense look like?

Anyway, Denver doesn’t skip steps.