NBA Rumors: 5 realistic trades to land Jrue Holiday on a contender

The Portland Trail Blazers aren't done dealing yet. With Damian Lillard officially a Milwaukee Buck, the Blazers will now aim their efforts toward trading Jrue Holiday to one of several eager contenders. From the looks of it, every heavy-hitter with enough wiggle room wants in on the action, so Portland should have no shortage of options.

The expected starting price is two first-round picks, but as Jared Weiss of The Athletic reports, the nature of the market could drive the price even higher. Portland should have no trouble blowing Miami's purported offer out of the water and silencing that argument for good.

Holiday is a player who most teams should want. He's a tremendous human being, first and foremost, but he also impacts winning at a high level. It's no coincidence that Milwaukee's title run in 2021 came after trading for Holiday. His defense on the perimeter is unmatched, but he's more than competent on the offensive end too. He averaged 19.3 points and 7.4 assists as the Bucks' lead ball-handler last season.

With a scalable offensive skill set and the ability to swing momentum with his lockdown defense, Holiday is a true NBA star — probably one of the most underrated All-Star level players of his generation. The price is high.

These trade packages make sense — for the Blazers, for Holiday, and for the teams receiving Holiday.

No. 5 realistic Jrue Holiday trade: Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have been floated as a potential Jrue Holiday suitor, with Chris Paul's contract serving as the foundation for any realistic deal. It would be quite comical (if a little tough on CP) for this whole summer of reconciliation and coming to terms with Golden State to end with another trade before he even gets a chance to play with Steph or Draymond.

Portland has no real use for Paul. Either the Blazers can look to swing another trade, or simply waive (and maybe stretch) Paul to clear the books. CP3 would get to sign with the Lakers (or, god forbid, the Suns) and the Blazers would have Jonathan Kuminga, an interesting second-round pick in Trayce Jackson-Davis, and a future pick to further complement the rebuild.

Kuminga is the obvious prize. The former No. 7 pick has flashed serious upside with Golden State, but the Warriors' win-now mandate has gotten in the way of his development on more than one occasion. He doesn't have the full trust of Steve Kerr and one has to imagine he would benefit from a long runway in Portland.

At 6-foot-8, Kuminga is a monster athlete — strong for his age with the ability to explode and elevate around the rim. He's still cleaning up the periphery of his skill set, but Kuminga is a potentially dominant slasher and at-rim finisher who can toggle between power forward or small-ball five. Put him in the Blazers' stew of young athletes and you're cooking with grease.

The dunks between Kuminga, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe would be enough to get the fanbase through a 30-win season.