Jrue Holiday NBA trade odds: 76ers, Celtics, Heat, Clippers lead suitors with Trail Blazers expected to flip newly acquired All-Star
Jrue Holiday isn't expected to be in Portland for long.
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The NBA was shaken to its core Wednesday when the Milwaukee Bucks surprisingly landed superstar guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers, which jumped the Bucks into the favored role to win the 2024 NBA title. That's not to say the move wasn't costly, as Milwaukee had to give up two-time All-Star guard Jrue Holiday in the three-way deal. The veteran absolutely does not fit with the rebuilding Blazers, and it's widely expected that Holiday will be flipped. SportsLine offers odds on his next team.
Portland may not necessarily trade Holiday before the start of the season, which is in less than a month, but he simply is not a fit on a young roster. The Blazers don't want to take playing time away from the likes of Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and rookie Scoot Henderson. It did take Portland three months to finalize a Lillard trade, but it would be a massive upset if Holiday is on the team after the February trade deadline.
Contenders will be lining up to acquire one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. Holiday was named First-Team All-Defense last season for the third time in his career. He's also coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his 14 years in the league. All of the teams that showed interest in Lillard are likely to call the Blazers back to re-engage on Holiday, who is also a great locker-room guy.
That absolutely starts with Miami, which was Wednesday's big loser. Lillard made no secret of his desire to join the Heat. Apparently, the Blazers weren't high on Tyler Herro as the main chip back. Why would they be for Holiday? It might have to be a three-team deal for it to work with the Heat, who lost guards Gabe Vincent and Max Strus this offseason.
Boston tried to trade Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers earlier this year but the deal fell through. Holiday is essentially a better version of Brogdon and could help replace the loss for Marcus Smart, a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year. It almost feels like Boston needs to counter what Milwaukee did.
Philadelphia still has to sort out the James Harden mess, but Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the Sixers are interested in Holiday, who began his career with Philadelphia in 2010. It's not out of the question the Sixers could trade Harden to Portland with draft picks, and the Blazers could in turn flip Harden too.
As noted, the Clippers nearly traded for Brogdon. They wanted Harden and looked into Lillard. Holiday is a Los Angeles native. New Orleans traded away Holiday in 2020 but could use his veteran presence and defense on an up-and-coming squad. Dallas needs a third star to go with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who unlike Holiday are poor defenders.
The Raptors, Knicks, Kings, Bulls, Lakers and Warriors also could be calling Portland. Frankly, Holiday would be a much better fit on Golden State's roster than Chris Paul. The NBA has a clause that any free agent who signs with a team can't be traded for three months or until Dec. 15, whichever is later. That will greatly affect some teams' ability to put together a nice package for Holiday immediately.
Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Which will be Jrue Holiday's next team if not Portland?
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