5. New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans will make re-signing Jrue Holiday their No. 1 priority in free agency, but that may be more difficult than expected.
ESPN‘s Zach Lowe reported in January that the team was worried Holiday might walk in free agency and upset Anthony Davis over the direction of the franchise, and according to WDSU‘s Fletcher Mackel, Holiday will fully test free agency, which has the Pelicans front office “unhappy” with the situation.
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If Holiday bolts, there’s a possibility better options like Kyle Lowry and George Hill or even fallback options like Jeff Teague and Patty Mills could be scooped up by then. If that’s the case, D-Rose wouldn’t be the worst last resort on a shorter, more team-friendly deal.
The prospect of uniting three John Calipari products would’ve been tantalizing back in Rose’s glory days, but at this point in his career, there’d be a legitimate concern about his facilitation and whether there’d be enough touches to go around now that Davis and DeMarcus Cousins are far superior options on offense.
However, Rose’s value lies in his deal potentially being a cheaper, “prove it” contract in the event New Orleans can’t re-sign Holiday or recruit another star floor general in his stead. NOLA wants to make the playoffs next season; Rose might be the closest thing to helping them get there among that middle tier of mediocre free agent point guards.