In theory, a healthy version of Jrue Holiday would be a great backcourt partner for Stephen Curry at the Golden State Warriors. In reality, trading Jonathan Kuminga for a veteran guard would be a painful return given what the franchise needs right now.
Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports reported on Monday that the Portland Trail Blazers have some interest in Kuminga before the deadline, making Holiday a potential trade target in a deal involving the young forward.
Warriors can't possibly trade for Jrue Holiday
As much as Holiday would have been a nice acquisition in the past, the Warriors already have too many guards on the roster to consider that a worthwhile move as O'Connor illustrated in his report.
"The Warriors are already small enough as is because Kerr has leaned heavily into three-guard and four-guard lineups, so Holiday should probably be avoided by general manager Mike Dunleavy," O'Connor wrote.
As much as this may sound like an obvious stance to take on Holiday, Golden State's obsession on guards means you just never know and will subsequently make fans nervous if we get further reports on Portland's interest in Kuminga.
In the past, you could argue that Holiday is simply far better than the Warriors' current assortment of guards, and that therefore a trade would actually be worth it. Yet this isn't the same Holiday that was so important to championship teams in Milwaukee and Boston, having faced injury issues that make him a risk for any team that wants to trade for him given there's still $72 million remaining on his contract over the next two seasons.
The 35-year-old has averaged 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals with the Trail Blazers this season, shooting 44.6% from the floor and 36.5% from 3-point range. Those are good numbers, but Holiday hasn't played since November 14 following the first 12 games.
Holiday is a prototypical Warrior player who Steve Kerr would love, but that's also part of the problem. It would likely lead to more three or four-guard lineups. This team needs size in the front court, and ideally doesn't need another veteran who has injury issues and has begun to move out of his prime.
Can the Warriors find that before the trade deadline? They desperately need to if they want to be anything more than a play-in team after Monday's loss to the L.A. Clippers pushed them to 19-18 on the season.