The New Orleans Pelicans could trade Jrue Holiday to the Chicago Bulls.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been involved in just about every trade rumor this offseason, most of which include moving Jrue Holiday.
Even though Holiday is very talented and the face of the franchise, he is making $27 million, which the Pelicans can probably better allocate to get a deeper and more balanced roster.
Now that Stan Van Gundy has been hired, most assumed that Jrue Holiday would not be moved, as a hire like SVG is a sign that the Pelicans want to win now and Jrue Holiday is the type of proven veteran defender Van Gundy loves.
However, there are some ways in which Jrue Holiday does not fit into Stan Van Gundy’s system, especially offensively, as SVG likes to run inside-out sets that are often initiated by his bigs.
Most people think Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will often be used to start Van Gundy’s offense, which relies more on quick ball movement than dribble penetration.
Knowing this, do the Pelicans really need two starting point guards? If you look at Van Gundy’s teams in the past, he preferred surrounding a big man and a pick-and-roll point guard with tall wings who could shoot the 3-point shot.
If Van Gundy wants to try and replicate this system again, one way to do it would be a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls have a new coach of their own in Billy Donovan and undoubtedly want to usher in a new culture of winning, just as the Pelicans are trying to do with Van Gundy.
The Bulls need talent and a player like Holiday would be a good place to start, as he would fit well in a backcourt with Bulls’ star Zach LaVine.
But what might a trade look like and would the Pelicans be interested?
New Orleans Pelicans: A trade that sends Jrue Holiday to the Chicago Bulls
The New Orleans Pelicans need to get more depth on the wing. Right now they really only have Brandon Ingram, who could slide into the two in Van Gundy’s offense.
If so, the Pelicans could potentially run out a huge lineup that is very versatile, can shoot the rock and switch on defense.
If the Pels could get some wing depth and a pick for Jrue Holiday, they’d have to consider it.
In this trade, the Bulls get a solid two-way player to build around and are only giving up the oft-injured Otto Porter, a middling project in Chandler Hutchinson and the fourth pick in a weak draft.
The Pelicans would be taking a risk here, as they are banking on the health of Otto Porter Jr., the development of Hutchinson and the viability of the fourth pick in a draft that isn’t considered very deep.
But both teams would potentially improve with this trade, so would they do it? Let’s take a look.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trading Jrue Holiday to the Bulls makes sense for Chicago
Why the Bulls would do it
The Bulls are trying to start a new chapter after a long stretch of being terrible. They have some young talent to build around in Zach LaVine, Coby White, Wendall Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen (who could also be a trade target for the Pelicans) but they need a solid veteran to bring it all together.
Adding a very good coach in Bily Donovan will help, but he needs a leader to build around. That leader could be Jrue Holiday.
Adding Holiday to this core immediately makes the Bulls a playoff contender in the East, especially if they can add a few other pieces in free agency or trades.
A backcourt of Holiday and LaVine would be very good defensively and could potentially switch on just about anyone on the perimeter.
Billy Donovan has had a lot of success running three-guard lineups and the Bulls could potentially have a very good one with the addition of Holiday, whose defensive versatility would make it easy for the Bulls to go small as OKC did this season.
The Bulls get a new player for Donovan to build around, a guy who will make everyone better and they didn’t have to give up any of the key parts of their core to do it.
The Bulls may request one of the Pelicans’ 2nd round picks as compensation, but since they have three, this isn’t a dealbreaker in any way. But would the Pels be interested?
New Orleans Pelicans: A trade sending Jrue Holiday to the Chicago Bulls
Why the Pelicans would do it
The Pelicans need size and wing depth and this trade would be one way to get it.
When healthy, Otto Porter Jr. provides solid defense on the wing, as well as above-average 3-point shooting.
It would allow the Pelicans to move Ingram to the two, which would give Van Gundy a whole lot of size and shooting to work with, similar to what he had in Orlando.
The Pelicans could then run their offense mostly through Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, using Porter Jr. as a spot-up shooter.
The Pelicans would have a very tall lineup and would be more equipped to handle big wings than they were this season.
Hutchinson provides some additional wing depth, defense and is on a very team-friendly contract.
The Pelicans also grab the fourth pick, which they could use to get someone like James Wiseman, Onyeka Okongwu or even LaMelo Ball if he falls out of the top-three.
This trade would give the Pelicans a lot of depth, versatility and picks to build around.
PG: Lonzo Ball
SG: Brandon Ingram/J.J. Redick/Aaron Nesmith
SF: Otto Porter Jr./, Josh Hart
PF: Zion Williamson/ Nicolo Melli
C: James Wiseman/Jaxson Hayes
The Pelicans would still have their own pick at 13, which they could trade for additional veteran defenders or use on a shooter like Aaron Nesmith.
A team like this is young, deep, talented and more suits the style of offense that Stan Van Gundy wants to run.
If the New Orleans Pelicans want to get deeper and better at the wing, they should look to trade Jrue Holiday to a team like the Chicago Bulls.