New Orleans Pelicans: 3 trade ideas for Jrue Holiday

New Orleans Pelicans trade partner No. 1: Milwaukee Bucks

Trading one of the most important components to your success seems counterintuitive for a Milwaukee Bucks team trying to climb the ladder towards a championship. Doing so accomplishes two things, both of which can push Milwaukee over the top.

By essentially swapping Brook Lopez for Holiday, the Bucks bring in a perimeter creator they desperately need to break down halfcourt defenses in the postseason. The last time we saw Jrue in the playoffs, he averaged 23.7 points on 58.1 percent true shooting.

Secondly, Milwaukee hasn’t exactly embraced the positional versatility Giannis Antetokounmpo brings to the table. Freeing up minutes at center for the Greek Freak would allow the Bucks to downsize in ways few teams could matchup against, especially with Holiday out on the perimeter.

At 32, Lopez doesn’t sync up with the other Pelicans. Yet from a playstyle standpoint, there are only a handful of other starting centers New Orleans would rather.

Lopez’s presence beyond the arc should create incredible driving lanes for Zion and Ingram. The Pelicans allowed opponents to shoot a whisper better (0.1 percent) within six feet of the rim last season, dead middle among the 30 teams. As an elite rim protector, the All-Defensive big man should help drop that number.

Ersan Ilyasova was no more than a bench warmer come playoff time, only seeing 23 minutes of action. Though he could be an intriguing stretch-five option for SVG. It’s parting ways with a 3-and-D guard like George Hill, who shot a league-best 46.0 percent from three this season, that hurts the Bucks, especially considering the offensive woes of Eric Bledsoe.

Such is simply the cost of business when acquiring a talent like Holiday, a necessary move that, at the very least, indicates a desire for improvement to Giannis before he potentially enters free agency. Subsequently, New Orleans further legitimizes its current playoff hopes by addressing its biggest positional weakness.