A deal with the Pelicans
Warriors acquire: No. 13 + Jrue Holiday
Pelicans acquire: No. 2 + Andrew Wiggins
Jrue Holiday is on the table. The highest bidder will get the prize, but he’s not going to be easy to acquire. Holiday is one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, and he’s arguably getting better on both ends of the court.
For New Orleans, their desire to trade Holiday is simple — he’s not in the future plans. They have Jaxson Hayes, Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, and many others to focus on, and Holiday isn’t going to part of their long-term future.
The motto in the NBA is to get what you can for players that won’t be around when you actually start to contend. That’s what New Orleans is planning to do, and as aforementioned, the Warriors love several prospects and could be able to find one that’s competent late in the lottery.
Wiggins again has to be tossed in to make the team’s cap space work. Holiday, a former All-Star guard, averaged 19.1 points per game, the second-most of his career, and two threes per game, a career-high.
Wiggins is younger and could contribute alongside a frontcourt of Williamson and Ingram. Those three plus the Ball brothers may be better than some expect.