Update: Monday, January 28th - ESPN reports Anthony Davis has requested for a trade and will not re-sign with New Orleans.
Hold on to your hats. I've got a made-up three way Sixers, Rockets, Pelicans trade for you.
76ers: Give up Jimmy Butler and Markelle Fultz FOR Jrue Holiday
Rockets: Give up three first-round picks, Brandon Knight, and Marquese Chriss FOR Jimmy Butler
Pelicans: Give up Jrue Holiday FOR three first-round picks (from Houston) and Markelle Fultz
Hear me out...
Anthony Davis is not re-signing with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans know this, right? They have to. So why let him walk after the 2019-20 season to free-agency? Might as well look to trade him (in the near future), rebuild, and replenish the asset bank by trading him. And at that point, they should just smash the reset button and trade Jrue Holiday too for more assets, the same guy who ironically got "The Process" rolling in July of 2013.
Now, admittedly, the chances of Pelicans owner 71-year-old Gayle Marie LaJaunie Bird Benson—who, by the way, is the first woman to be the majority shareholder of the voting stock in a NFL (Saints) and NBA franchise—allowing/making this decision is low. Not because it's the wrong thing to do, necessarily, but more so because of the public relations hit (see: Hinkie, Sam). Logistically, for this to happen, it would mean New Orleans trades Holiday ahead of the February 7th deadline and likely before Davis, which seems awkward.
But you never know and I'm just here to have some fun.
The most intriguing question facing the Sixers' front office is, do they really want to give a soon-to-be 30-year-old Jimmy Butler a five-year max? It certainly doesn't feel like they do.
Related: MacMullan: Jimmy Butler on 'thin ice' in Philly
But the Sixers also do not want to jeopardize their chances at making a run to the NBA Finals this season. So how do they do that? Acquire Elton Brand's former teammate and former Sixer Jrue Holiday.
Holiday, who doesn't turn 29 until June, is one of the NBA's most underrated and talented two-way point guards. Contractually, he's due about $25 million in 2019-20 and 2020-21 (plus a player option in 2021-22), a lot easier to manage than ~$190 million for Butler through 2023-24.
Talent wise, Holiday is perceived by most as a notch below Butler. Holiday is averaging 21.0 points and 8.2 assists this season on 48.2/32.3/75.1 shooting splits. Now, he's not the greatest three-point shooter (35.6% career) and fitting him in alongside Ben Simmons (who will still run the offense) will be a challenge for Brett Brown, but nothing more than Butler already is. Defensively, Holiday isn't much of a drop off—if at all—from Butler. Positionally, he'll be able to guard opposing point guards—like a Kyrie Irving for example—more fluidly than a 6'8" Butler. In a Zach Lowe piece about Holiday that was released on Friday morning and I didn't see until after I published this (I added this quote in later), Andre Iguodala said Holida "is the best defender in the league no one will ever say anything about."
And I know quantifying the character stuff is difficult an narrative-y, but I'll just say Holiday is an A-plus. So, while the underrated Holiday is certainly a better financial long-term option than Butler, he may even be a more valuable on-court asset for Philadelphia today.
And Butler goes to Houston, duh! A team who originally offered four first-round picks for him, now gets him on a discount for three. The Rockets want to capitalize on James Harden's prime and make a run at the NBA Finals, but they're still missing pieces even when they get Chris Paul and Clint Capela back. A lineup of CP3, Harden, Butler, Eric Gordon, and Clint Capela could, theoretically, compete with the Warriors.
Other notes:
- The Sixers throw in Markelle Fultz (yes, he's a thrown in at this point), to sweeten the pot for New Orleans and shed his contract
- The Pelicans take Brandon Knight's $15 million ish contract off of Houston's hands and also get an underachieving young player in Marquese Chriss, which allows the Rockets to take on Butler's contract
