According to Ian Begley, the New York Knicks are interested in trading for Jrue Holiday.
New York is the latest team in the last couple of days to express interest in trading for the defensive stud. Holiday has been on the trade market since he was traded to the Trail Blazers in the Damian Lillard trade.
The Celtics, Sixers, Warriors, and many others are interested in trading for the lockdown guard. Unlike the rest of the group, it seems like the Sixers will be unable to fully pursue Holiday for a variety of reasons. Begley notes that the Knicks would be looking to sign the veteran to a long-term extension or re-sign him in free agency. The veteran has a player option after this season.
As noted by the reporter, the Knicks could make an easy offer centered around Evan Fournier, Isaiah Hartenstein, Immanuel Quickley and first-round picks. The team does have a lot of first-round picks but they might not be very attractive to teams since some are heavily protected. The picks that are not heavily protected are their own, a Mavericks 2024 pick, and a Bucks 2025 first-round pick.
Would it be smart for the Knicks to go for Jrue Holiday?
Unless the asking price goes heavily down, it would not make much sense for the Knicks to go after Holiday. The team was already a very good defensive team last season and is clearly lacking shot-making. While the point guard can create for others very nicely, he is not a player who can score extremely well for himself.
Due to the protections on some of those first-round picks, the team does not have a wealth of picks to give up. With that in mind, the Knicks should wait for someone else to come along who has All-NBA-level offensive scoring potential. This doesn't even take into consideration the fact that Holiday is an aging veteran and is guaranteed to miss a portion of the season at this point.
To be quite honest trading for James Harden would be a smarter idea than going for Holiday. It still would not be wise to extend Harden but at the very least it would address the biggest weakness from the playoff which was iso-offensive scoring.
