New Orleans Pelicans: Jrue Holiday trade package power rankings
By Nick Alvarez
The Miami Heat can build off of their NBA Finals run by offering the New Orleans Pelicans an intriguing mix of players and another first-round pick
#4- Miami Heat
Potential Assets Available: Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk, 20th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft
Kicking off this ranking is the reigning Eastern Conference champion, Miami Heat. After making the NBA Finals, the Heat are clearly looking for co-stars to pair with Jimmy Butler, which is why they might be interested in Jrue Holiday.
When looking at their assets, their selling point is all about strong young players with upside, since they have virtually no draft picks remaining due to previous deals. Of course, the biggest asset the Heat have that should interest the New Orleans Pelicans is Tyler Herro.
Tyler Herro after a strong rookie season and coming-out party in the NBA playoffs looks like a star in the making. He’s a shooting guard who could slot right into the spot that Jrue Holiday is abandoning and make the Pelicans better with a smooth 3 point stroke. If the Heat calls the Pelicans about Jrue Holiday, they should press hard to steal Tyler Herro.
The other assets on the Miami Heat are slouches either. That starts with fellow youngster Kendrick Nunn. Nunn doesn’t have the star potential that Herro has, but he’s a good shooter who’s still improving and could be a long-term player in the Pelicans’ rotation.
Some people might not look at the lumberjack appearance of Kelly Olynyk and think he’s a valuable commodity, but I think he might be for the New Orleans Pelicans. We’re talking about a 6’11” big man who can shoot it from deep, exactly the type of player the Pelicans need to run Stan Van Gundy’s offense.
Concluding the Heat’s treasure chest is a bit of a loophole move. The Miami Heat have the 20th pick in the NBA draft, and even though they can’t move that pick due to NBA rules against trading multiple first-round picks, the Heat can select a player at that pick for the Pelicans and trade that player. This is what the Lakers technically did with the 4th pick that they gave the Pelicans last year.
A pretty good start, but let’s look at some more of the options that the Pelicans could pursue.