5 potential trade destinations for Jrue Holiday

5. Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks boast a legitimate MVP candidate and the league’s most unstoppable offense, but imagine how much better they might be if they started putting actual stars around Luka Doncic. Kristaps Porzingis is trying, but he’s still got layers of rust to shake off. Some defensive help in the backcourt would help, as would someone who can play on or off the ball next to Doncic.

Enter Jrue Holiday, who would make for a dynamic pairing with the 20-year-old phenom. The problem is finding a trade package that would actually interest New Orleans.

Tim Hardaway Jr.’s $20 million salary makes him a natural building block to match Holiday’s $27 million figure, and since he’s got a $19 million player option for 2020-21, he’d only be on the books for another year at the very worst. From there, the Mavs would have to hope throwing in young prospects like Jalen Brunson, Justin Jackson and a future draft pick would be enough.

Brunson has been legitimately good off the bench for Dallas, but this kind of package probably holds little appeal for a Pelicans team that could be trying to drum up a bidding war for its All-Star. The soonest the Mavs can offer a first-rounder is 2025 thanks to the Porzingis trade, making their offer substantially less impressive than other suitors’.

Crazier things have happened (remember how outlandish the DeMarcus Cousins trade seemed at the time?), but as fun as this fit would be, it’s unlikely the Mavs have the pieces to make it happen.