The Golden State Warriors are one team that may have benefited from adding former All-Star guard Jrue Holiday. It’s looking pretty unlikely now.
There’s no denying the 2019-2020 season did not go as planned for the Golden State Warriors. Coming into the season without Kevin Durant and with Klay Thompson already out for the bulk of the year, it was always going to be tough.
But, when Stephen Curry went down in the fourth game of the season, it was nearly impossible to see anything positive happening. Now that that is behind them, the Warriors can move on and look towards the future, one in which they’ve contenders again.
With a trade exception and several high-value picks in their pocket, the Warriors have every opportunity to craft a package for an All-Star-caliber player. One player that’s been on the market is Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday.
It’s not that the Warriors package isn’t among the best that New Orleans could’ve been offered, but Golden State is out of the race for the same reason that Dallas no longer has a shot. It’s because the Pelicans don’t want to deal him to a team in the West.
I'm told Mavs are not in on the Jrue Holiday trade sweepstakes. One of the biggest reasons: Pels are determined to trade him to an Eastern Conference team. They don't want to compete against him.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) November 16, 2020
It’s not an uncommon strategy, but it is one that could hamper the Pelicans strategy moving forward. The Mavericks, a team with Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic, may have paid a premium to get a defender like Holiday.
They shut them down, and it’s assumed any deal Golden State could’ve proposed would’ve also got axed. The Warriors could’ve offered their first-round pick for the Warriors lottery pick, a deal that could’ve helped both teams immensely.
With Holiday out of the picture and Kelly Oubre Jr. already traded, there are only a handful of players the Warriors should truly consider making a strong move for. Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge are a few names that would still make sense for Golden State.
That said, it’s sad to hear that Holiday isn’t going to be dealt to a team in the West, but the likelihood that Golden State would pay what Dallas would is also slim to none.