4 big ticket trades the Philadelphia 76ers should consider in the offseason
By Pete Sawan
Jrue Holiday (guard) – New Orleans Pelicans
First, we have a familiar face in New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday. As many fans already know, the Sixers drafted Holiday back in the guard-filled 2009 NBA Draft with the 17th overall pick. Holiday earned his only NBA All-Star game nod with the Sixers back in 2013.
Soon after, Holiday was traded to New Orleans for the rights to Nerlens Noel. This move helped jumpstart the “Process” era Sixers. Now, with the end of “The Process”, it may be time to bring Holiday back.
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The one thing, besides spacing, that the Sixers are truly lacking is a true secondary ball-handler. They have tried to fix that problem by plugging in the likes of Josh Richardson and Raul Neto, but to no avail. Simply put, they haven’t been able to fill the void.
Considering this, Holiday would be a perfect fit to fix this problem. Since joining New Orleans, Holiday has averaged 35.5 percent from 3-point range, which is better than every Philadelphia 76ers starter in each of their runs with Philly. In addition, Holiday would be an immediate improvement on defense, averaging 1.7 steals per game this season.
Now, in terms of the price tag, I could see the Philadelphia 76ers offering up a bevy of players. Potentially, Al Horford could make a solid trade piece, as the Pels would be getting a stretch big who can pass the ball fairly well to pair with Zion Williamson.
Whether or not New Orleans would want to move on from Holiday is still up in the air. Nonetheless, it’s still a thought.