5 Jrue Holiday trades that work for everyone
By John Likanje
2. Orlando Magic
New Orleans Pelicans receive: Nikola Vucevic and the Magic’s 2020 second-round pick
Orlando Magic receive: Jrue Holiday
This is basically a one-for-one trade. The pick is just to make sure the money is as even as possible. Both teams give away 30-year-old veteran players that aren’t in either squad’s long-term plans. Although this may not seem logical, it actually makes a lot of sense in this case.
As offensively gifted as Vucevic is, it’s obvious that the team hasn’t done much with him as the best player. However, to be fair, the majority of the blame falls on the front office for not correctly rebuilding the roster post-Dwight Howard.
Regardless, Vucevic is too skilled and valuable a player to waste his prime on a mediocre-to-bad team such as the Magic. Now that Derrick Favors is a free agent and most likely won’t return to New Orleans, the starting center position would be his for the taking. Just like Randle, a potential frontcourt of Ingram, Williamson and Vucevic is a great core to build around for the next five years.
Meanwhile, Holiday would be in a similar situation like he would be with the Knicks. He’s a much better upgrade from D.J. Augustin because he’s 6-foot-3 and one of the best combo guards in the entire league. Holiday can also make a good lob duo with Bamba and take pressure off Evan Fournier (assuming he accepts his player option and returns for one more season) and Aaron Gordon.