The Philadelphia 76ers have emerged as a front-runner for Jrue Holiday. The rumors comes courtesy of Shams Charania, who dialed into The Pat McAfee Show. “Philadelphia has interest in him, and Philadelphia is going to be going hard at him. So, James Harden would have to be a part of a transaction like that," Charania told McAfee. Holiday was originally drafted by the Sixers back in 2009 and played with the team until 2013.
It's certainly an interesting proposal and would solve the ongoing dispute that the Sixers have with James Harden. Furthermore, users on social media theorize that the trade would also involve the Clippers, who were the only team that Harden was being traded to earlier in the offseason. Holiday is suddenly on the market after being included in the Damian Lillard trade. However, it's unlikely Holiday is likely to remain in the Pacific Northwest as Portland is happy with their complement of young guards.
Lillard Trade Opens The Floodgates
For much of the offseason, the Lillard trade, or lack of one, had the rest of the league in a holding position. Now, with Dame in Milwaukee, the rest of the league can resume business. With Harden seemingly off the table, Holiday has become a primary focus for contending teams. Despite turning 33 earlier this year, he remains a solid contributor. He had 19.3 points in 67 games last season, his highest average since the 19/20 season.
However, Holiday's departure from the Bucks was mourned by his friend and teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo. "Jrue is my fucking brother for life. I love his family, I love him. I appreciate him and I wish him nothing but the best. He blessed me with a fucking championship. He's the one who made that huge steal in Game 5 of the Finals. I went to battle with him multiple times. Fuck basketball. Fuck the media shit. This guy is my brother for life, and it's always going to be like that. He's going to thrive wherever he ends up."
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