NBA free agency: Jrue Holiday meeting with Pelicans first
By John Buhler
The New Orleans Pelicans have targeted point guard Jrue Holiday as their top free agent this summer. He will meet with the team at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1.
With Stephen Curry almost certainly returning to the Golden State Warriors and Chris Paul being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Houston Rockets, Jrue Holiday has now become one of the biggest names on the free agency point guard market.
Holiday will be hitting his unrestricted free agency after four injury-riddled years with the New Orleans Pelicans. After being an All-Star for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013, Holiday will have plenty of suitors to hopefully elevate some team’s backcourt.
While he will have interest elsewhere, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that “New Orleans guard Jrue Holiday will meet will meet with the Pelicans officials at the 12:01 a.m. ET start of free agency on Saturday.”
Wojnarowski would add that “if Holiday…is unable to reach an agreement on a deal to remain with New Orleans, he intends to take meetings elsewhere in the first 48 hours of free agency.”
In essence, Holiday is willing to hear out his incumbent team’s pitch about the Pelicans’ long-term plans for him and the franchise. New Orleans already has two All-Stars in the frontcourt in power forward Anthony Davis and center DeMarcus Cousins. Davis might be the franchise cornerstone, but Cousins is in the last year of his contract with the Pelicans after being traded over from the Sacramento Kings at the All-Star break.
Holiday is a new father and 27-years-old. He can ink a five-year contract with the Pelicans if he stays put. If the starting five for the Pelicans remains healthy, Alvin Gentry’s team could be in the mix to make the Western Conference Playoffs.
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By meeting with the Pelicans as soon as the clock strikes midnight, this lets the basketball world know that Holiday is intrigued about New Orleans’ basketball future. He could help dictate the point guard market with guys like George Hill, Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague also hitting free agency.