5 Jrue Holiday trades that work for everyone
By John Likanje
5. Denver Nuggets
New Orleans Pelicans receive: PJ Dozier, Gary Harris and the Nuggets’ 2020 first-round pick (via the Houston Rockets)
Denver Nuggets receive: Jrue Holiday
Whenever teams are shopping around an above-average player such as Holiday, a cardinal rule is to not trade them within the conference. This is especially the case if the opposing team is one of the top teams in the league and just advanced all the way to the Conference Finals. But in this scenario, both teams would absolutely win the trade.
It’s no secret that the Denver Nuggets are missing a third option behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Fans are hoping that someday, Michael Porter Jr. can fill that role, but that remains to be seen plus his defense is suspect.
Jerami Grant, who was that third option, declined his player option and is now a free agent. Considering how thin the 2020 class is, the 6-foot-8 forward will be a hot commodity and most likely seek a pretty lucrative contract. This means the Nuggets’ best chance is to trade for a win-now player such as Holiday.
Holiday is a great third option because he doesn’t need the ball to be effective. If the 6-foot-3 guard was able to average 19.1 points per game behind Brandon Ingram and Williamson, he can fit right in with the Nuggets.
The Nuggets need to move on from Gary Harris. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard has proven to be way too injury-prone throughout his career. He even missed the first five games of this year’s postseason and could’ve been essential in slowing down Donovan Mitchell. The problem is that Harris is only making $19.1 million, so the Nuggets would need to throw in bench help such as P.J. Dozier and a first-round pick since the Pelicans are rebuilding.