Pelicans Would Be Wise To Offer Jrue Holiday Close To Max Money
Coming off an injury free 2016-17 season, Jrue Holiday showed he still has what it take to be an elite two-way player. But did he do enough to earn a “max contract” from the New Orleans Pelicans this summer?
News of New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday‘s free agency and, more specifically, the projection of a near max offer has garnered some preliminary attention around the NBA. Most of that attention has been skepticism of his worthiness of such a contract.
This was not a surprise. If you’ve followed his career trajectory since joining the NBA it’s no wonder why his play this season and most of his NBA career has gone mostly unnoticed in the national spotlight.
Coming out of UCLAin 2009, Holiday was drafted into NBA oblivion that is the Philadelphia 76ers.
Holiday ascended his game in each of his first four seasons in the NBA and helped by back-to-back playoff appearances in 2010-11 (first-round exit) and 2011-12 (second-round exit), was able to elevate his game to All-Star status in 2012-13, even though the 76ers missed the playoffs that season.
Related Story: New Orleans Pelicans--25 Best Players
A disastrous trade and behind-the-scenes unraveling in Philadelphia eventually led to a regime change and Holiday’s exit from the franchise shortly after his All-Star campaign, as he was shipped off to the New Orleans Pelicans as the perfect complement to centerpiece Anthony Davis.
Holiday’s career with the Pelicans has been anything but stable. His numerous injuries, including a stress fracture and stress reaction to his right knee, have been well documented. His injuries forced him to miss 107 games over the first three seasons with the Pelicans.
New Orleans Pelicans
Aside from playing on bad teams and suffering career-altering injuries, for Holiday, flying under the radar can also be attributed to his style of play.
Holiday’s game isn’t one that would have him putting up eye-popping numbers or have social media abuzz with highlight reels and SportsCenter features on a nightly basis such as Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Stephen Curry or James Harden would.
Holiday’s game is subtler, but his impact is no less important to his Pelicans team. In my mind, he’s in a category closer to the NBA’s highest-paid player, Mike Conley, than some of his aforementioned counterparts.
Rather than lighting the court on fire by taking over entire games with his elite athleticism, speed, shooting or play-making ability, Holiday meticulously picks his moments to assert himself.
Don’t get me wrong, Holiday can and has displayed a lot of the characteristics that have made the elite point guards of the game household names, but Holiday has understood his role on a team that also employs a top-10 player and often understood that he needed to defer to Davis (and more recently DeMarcus Cousins) as the main go-to option in New Orleans.
Just as he picks his spots, he also meticulously gets to his spots on the court instead of forcing his way with aggression and explosiveness.
Instead his patient, change-of-pace style equipped with elite ball-handling, craftiness, quickness and “sneak up on you” athleticism allows Holiday to get where he needs to go on the court and when he decides he wants to score, there’s typically nothing the defense can do about it.
Holiday is a top-notch leader and decision maker with a high basketball IQ who excels in running the fast break.
He thrives off the pick-and-roll and can push the offensive pace to match head coach Alvin Gentry’s high-tempo offense or adjust his game to run a slower version, as he did post-“Boogie” trade (although it took some time for him to adjust).
He’s a versatile guard who can play on or off the ball, but what really sets him apart is his defense.
Frankly, Jrue Holiday is one of the best defensive point guards in the league and rarely gets credit for it.
When in the lineup, he sets the tone with constant ball pressure and his ability to defend multiple positions on the perimeter.
He deflects passes, annoys ball-handlers with his long arms and rarely puts his team in a bad position when defending the pick-and-roll.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
Holiday held opponents to only 39.8 percent overall shooting against him while boasting a defensive rating of 102.8 and a defensive win-share of .048; both of which ranks towards to top of the league.
Of course it’s not all positive, as Holiday can get careless with the ball and does turn it over too much for my liking. On many occasions, he’s been late with passes and has a tendency to over dribble (both of which he’s improved on late in the season).
However, even with those wrinkles in his game, his impact on his team is undeniable and now that Holiday is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the timing couldn’t have been better.
After an up-and-down career, he has finally been able to maintain his health in what may have been in best NBA season; giving the New Orleans Pelicans and every other team in the NBA a look at what a healthy Jrue Holiday can bring to the table.
A pillar in the community, Holiday is a better option and brings with him the most value to the Pelicans than any of the other free agent options currently available. For these reasons, offering anything close to a max contract for Jrue Holiday’s future services could end up being a wise move.
Next: 25 Greatest Scorers of All-Time
And, hey, if the Pelicans want to sweeten the pot in their effort to retain their starting point guard, the Pelicans may want to take a look at signing Jrue’s brother, Justin Holiday, who is also set to be a free agent this summer and could provide some outside shooting off the bench.