Jrue Holiday has been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Damian Lillard trade deal. However, an NBA Insider has revealed that the Utah Jazz were interested in trading for Holiday in a deal. Here is the complete story!
Why the Jazz Had Eyes on Jrue Holiday?
One of the most anticipated trade deals in the NBA league, the Damian Lillard trade, has taken place. In the deal, Lillard was traded from the Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks.
In exchange, the Bucks sent Jrue Holiday alongside Deandre Ayton to the Phoenix Suns since it was a 3 team trade deal. And the Blazers receive Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, and Grayson Allen from the Phoenix Suns.
Now, an NBA Insider, Zach Lowe of ESPN, has revealed that the Jazz were looking to acquire Holiday from the Trail Blazers in a deal. The Bucks have a plethora of draft picks, which were sufficient to acquire Holiday, as they traded Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell last year.
Jrue Holiday walking back into the Bucks arena with a Celtics jersey on pic.twitter.com/2CXIG61OpG
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) October 1, 2023
It would not make sense for the Jazz to acquire Holiday in a deal since he is already 33. The Jazz are still rebuilding their roster, so they should focus on acquiring aging players like Holiday.
Jrue Holiday Stats, Career Average, and Next Destination!
In a total of 67 games, Holiday averaged around 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 7.4 assists while playing for the Bucks in the last season.
The star guard scored 47.9% of the shots from the field, 38.4% of the shots from beyond the arc, and a total of 85.9% of the shots from the free throw line.
The two-time NBA All-Star has a career average of 16.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Holiday played a major role in getting the title for the Phoenix Suns in 2021. He was also named five times All-Defensive teams.
During a press conference with the Boston Celtics, Holiday told an NBA reporter:
“A few days ago, before I got traded, it was just kind of like where am I gonna land? I had hopes of being here and sometimes you don’t want to get your hopes up, just because you can get your heart broken that way. But once I ended up getting traded here, that’s what I was committed to.”
“Again, a team that’s been close to winning championships, that has those banners up there and has one covered because of how rich this organization is. And winning is really, really important to me. And that’s the reason why I play, is to win.”
The Jazz acquired John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks this season. Now, they have a strong core roster, which includes players like Collins, Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson.
