The New Orleans Pelicans can be back in the playoffs with the right Jrue Holiday trade.
The New Orleans Pelicans could learn a thing or two from the Memphis Grizzlies.
The two are going to be rivals for the foreseeable future as division foes and because of the connection between Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.
A year ago, the Grizzlies were in the same position as the Pelicans, out of the playoffs with a young team and a valuable veteran trade chip in Mike Conley.
The Pelicans are now a young team on the cusp with a franchise favorite of their own in Jrue Holiday.
Memphis ended up trading Conley for pieces that helped them build for the future and get better now, which is something the Pelicans could do with Jrue Holiday.
The difference is that Holiday is younger than Conley and there should be a more robust market, so the Pelicans could potentially parlay a Holiday trade into a much better roster.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trading Jrue Holiday makes sense
The Conley/Holiday situations are not exactly the same. Holiday is younger and has a potential extra year due to his 2021-22 player option.
The Pelicans don’t have to be in a rush to trade Holiday, but the Conley trade shows what can happen if you strike at the right time.
The Grizzlies were able to trade Conley to the Jazz for Grayson Allen, Darius Bazly, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver and a first round draft pick. This isn’t a bad haul on its own, but the Grizzlies weren’t done yet.
They traded Bazely and a second round pick for Brandon Clarke, which turned out well for Memphis, as Clarke is a solid contributor, just 23 and on a team-friendly deal.
They packaged Jevon Carter with Kyle Korver to take a chance on Josh Jackson and De’Anthony Melton and two second round draft picks.
The Grizzlies still weren’t done. They traded Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill and Andre Iguodala for Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters and Gorgui Dieng.
So the Grizzlies essentially turned Mike Conley into Grayson Allen, Brandon Clarke, Josh Jackson, De’Anthony Melton, Justise Winslow, Gorgui Dieng and three draft picks. Not bad.
If the New Orleans Pelicans play this right, they can parlay Jrue Holiday into an even better package, as he is younger and better than Conley, and there should be a more robust market in a down free agent class.
The Grizzlies gave the Pelicans the blueprint of what to do with Jrue Holiday. Make the right moves and the Pelicans could make the leap into the playoffs, while setting themselves up for the future.