New Orleans Pelicans: Who leads the team if Jrue Holiday is traded?

Analyzing the New Orleans Pelicans leadership situation if Jrue Holiday is traded

It’s official, Shams Charania reported yesterday that the New Orleans Pelicans are actively shopping aging fan-favorite Jrue Holiday. This is a move that clearly has a lot of logic-based in it, but I can’t say that it doesn’t deserve some questioning.

I’m thinking out loud here, but is this really the right time to move Jrue Holiday? And is it possible that the New Orleans Pelicans actually whiffed on the right opportunity to make a deal?

Look at it from this perspective. When David Griffin took over the Pelicans in 2019 and traded Anthony Davis, he made it clear that the team was Jrue Holiday’s and didn’t listen to offers on the shooting guard during that offseason. Hmm, I guess that was just a ploy to take the pressure off of incoming 1st overall pick, Zion Williamson.

Then, Griffin had the opportunity again to trade Holiday during last season’s trade deadline when the Brooklyn Nets made an offer, Griffin again refused, choosing to keep Holiday because the Pelicans were pushing to make the playoffs. I guess we could argue that the team’s playoff aspirations were to give the young core experience because trading Jrue Holiday indicates that the Pelicans won’t be true contenders in the last productive years of his career.

Enough of the criticism though, because it’s safe to say that one of the reasons that the Pelicans kept Holiday around was because he’s a leader. That was clear this season, as he has was the guy that always left everything he had out on the court, and encouraged his young teammates even through their failures. We can forgive the Pelicans for missed opportunities because Holiday helped the team grow. So then what happens if this is the year he’s finally gone?

Who takes the leadership baton for the New Orleans Pelicans if Jrue Holiday is traded

If Jrue Holiday leaves, then it’s clear that someone else on the New Orleans Pelicans roster will have to step up and become the leader of the team for this era, but who is that player?

The obvious one that everyone will look at is Zion Williamson. Williamson is the 1st overall pick and the hope of the franchise, the player that made all Pelicans fans forget about Anthony Davis. He’s the obvious candidate, but he’s shown nothing that screams leadership early into his career.

Look at it this way, Williamson wasn’t available for much of the season due to injury, and a leader needs to be a player that is constantly on the floor. We hope that his durability is issue was for just one season, but there’s always a chance that this continues being an issue for Zion.

Then there’s the personality, players can lead in a variety of ways but most leaders are vocal ones, something that Zion Williamson isn’t. Williamson is quiet and humble, still trying to find his way in the NBA. He certainly can become this team’s leader but he hasn’t done it yet.

Outside of Zion Williamson, I look at Stan Van Gundy, a coach who’s been a leader for his teams a ton during his career. I’ll keep my thoughts on Van Gundy simple by saying how many NBA are true contenders when their coach is their leader?

Who else might step up? We can look at Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. They are two young players who seem ready who now have plenty of NBA experience and could take the reigns of the Pelicans if they’re empowered to do so. If not them, maybe J.J. Redick takes that role after being a mentor to this young team last season.

Without question, if the New Orleans Pelicans trade Jrue Holiday then they need to answer the question of leadership. Having a leadership void is one of the quickest ways to derail an NBA team, and I just hope that someone on the roster is willing to step up and take the reigns.