The New Orleans Pelicans are trading Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks
Well, here it is people, the moment that the New Orleans Pelicans have seemingly been waiting for all offseason. Fresh off the presses from The Athletic’s NBA Insider Shams Charania, the New Orleans Pelicans are trading Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The New Orleans Pelicans are trading Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 17, 2020
Talk about a major move, but of course, the biggest question is, what will the Pelicans be getting back in the trade?
Bucks are finalizing a package that includes three future first-round picks to the Pelicans in deal, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/7TYoogZHCD
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 17, 2020
New Orleans also receives two future draft pick swaps from Milwaukee, along with three firsts, sources said. https://t.co/pZtkfvZkrD
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 17, 2020
As you can see above, with more information from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the New Orleans Pelicans will receive Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, as well as three first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps for their former All-Star.
An instant reaction to the New Orleans Pelicans sending Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee
My instant reaction to this move was that it feels like a move out of desperation for the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks of course know that they have to start becoming a better playoff team soon, or else they’ll risk losing their franchise player Giannis Antetokumpo for nothing in free agency.
When that’s the ultimatum a team is facing, of course, they’ll give up that amount of draft capital for a supporting star. If you think about it, this deal is very much similar to the Anthony Davis deal, in that a team got desperate and decided to part ways with their entire future.
Just thinking about it, the New Orleans Pelicans are now set up to be major players in the NBA for years to come. With all the draft capital they have, they can either make blockbuster trades of their own for legitimate superstars or let those future picks play out and potentially land more top players in the draft. That makes this a wise move for the Pelicans.
Lost in this, of course, is the addition of guards Eric Bledsoe and George Hill. Is either of those two players the elite young stars that we thought the Pelicans would receive? No, but those players are veterans with a knack for shooting and defense. They are perfect for bolstering the Pelicans rotation and giving their young core older supporting players.
Keep in mind too, Jrue Holiday is entering the final year of his contract so while some fans may have expected a big return player-wise, getting that much draft capital and a couple of veterans is actually a steal in comparison to what similar players would have fetched.
Those reactions just fly off the top of my head, I like every Pelicans fan also has many questions about what this deal means still. Was this the best offer on the table? Was it worth trading Holiday for more draft capital instead of young commodities? We’ll probably find out about this down the line, but for now, the door is open for what’s going to be an eventful couple of days for the New Orleans Pelicans.