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

No. 4 realistic Jrue Holiday trade: Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers have danced around a James Harden trade all summer, but there's a clear reluctance to shell out high-value assets for a 34-year-old point guard with Harden's track record of postseason blunders and unceremonious departures.

Holiday is only one year younger than Harden, but he carries none of the baggage. He's a grade-A person who every former teammate loves. He commits day-in and day-out, never taking a possession off defensively and letting his frustrations leak to the media. Holiday has a championship on his resume, the respect of his peers, and a baseline reliability Harden cannot claim to match. If the Clippers decide Holiday is the better of the two options, no one would blame them.

Los Angeles doesn't have much to offer on the prospect front, so it will require three managable veteran contracts and a couple future firsts. Terance Mann has been a reported hang-up in James Harden conversations, but Holiday is (again) more reliable and, let's be frank, Mann is not that special. He would make for a nice rotation cog in Portland — a versatile defender who can connect dots offensively with his playmaking acumen — but he's not the player you cut ties with Jrue Holiday over.

Norman Powell has been around the block in Portland before. He has the resume to net them another first-round pick in a future trade, or he could simply step into his classic sixth man role to mentor a young group. Robert Covington is trade bait too, but he's a useful help-side defender and floor spacer in the interim.

The Clippers add Holiday to the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George core. He doesn't make the Clippers any younger, but Holiday strengthens the defense while providing a much-needed dose of reliable playmaking at the point guard position. With all due respect to Russell Westbrook, he's better off in a sixth man role while Holiday mans the steering wheel.