5 teams New Orleans Pelicans could trade Jrue Holiday to

Option 5: Orlando Magic

The 23 year old Aaron Gordon is one of the most athletic players in the entire NBA. He’s also on a very tradeable, very team-friendly decreasing contract and is exactly the type of guy that New Orleans should be looking for in a rebuild. He’s been improving many aspects of his game in recent years, and he looks like he can keep that trend going as he develops into a completely well-rounded weapon.

The Magic have a possible issue brewing with their frontcourt simply being too crowded to get everyone the minutes they need. If they decide to re-sign first time all-star Nikola Vucevic, they have to figure out how to keep Gordon getting minutes while also trying to develop young bucks Mohamed Bamba and Jonathan Isaac. It’s a “good” problem to have when you have too many young prospects and good players to find player time for, but the Magic aren’t winning any titles in the next year or two.

Why not sell high on Aaron Gordon and use his obvious upside to add a star point guard (a position they’re weak at) in Jrue Holiday? Surely, the Magic structured Aaron Gordon’s decreasing contract that he signed last offseason with exactly this type of situation in mind. It might be the time to strike for Orlando.

The Pelicans receive the Magic’s first rounder next year, which they would hope would turn into a lottery pick, while Orlando would obviously plan to improve next season with the addition of Holiday and their young guys getting more development experience, turning the loss of that draft pick into no big deal.

There is no guarantee the New Orleans Pelicans will trade Jrue Holiday along with Anthony Davis, but if they are truly embracing a full rebuild, it could become an option very soon. Time will tell how this all shakes out, but if it happens, let’s hope the Pelicans’ front office sets the team up for future success and acquires some awesome assets in exchange for their stars.