DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - New Orleans Pelicans star guard Jrue Holiday is on the trading block, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Wednesday.
According to Charania, "several contending teams" are pursuing Holiday, who the Pelicans are "openly discussing" as a trade piece.
As of now, there is no reported interest in Holiday on the Mavericks part, but Dallas is known to be looking to acquire a third star this offseason to pair with Doncic and Porzingis, and Holiday certainly fits that definition.
According to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News' report last week, the Mavs are willing to trade anyone but their two stars in exchange for a third star.
The 30-year-old Holiday would cost a pretty penny to pry from the Pelicans. The former All-Star is one of the top defensive guards in the NBA, earning NBA All-Defensive First Team honors in 2017-2018 and a second-team selection in 2018-2019.
Holiday averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2019-20.
According to Spotrac, Holiday is under contract next season at $26.2 million and has a player option for $27.1 million in 2021-2022. So the Pelicans might be motivated to swing a deal for him because he could potentially leave without New Orleans getting anything in return.
But what can the Mavericks offer in such a trade that might entice the Pelicans?
According to calculations on TradeNBA.com, the Mavs could send several combinations of players and picks to the Pelicans to make the deal work. Might New Orleans be interested in players such as Tim Hardaway Jr. (has a player option for next season), Dorian Finney-Smith, Delon Wright, Jalen Brunson, Justin Jackson, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber or Seth Curry? Dallas can also throw in the No. 18 and No. 31 overall picks in this month's draft.
The K&C Masterpiece weighed in on a potential trade involving the Mavs and Holiday. You can see their thoughts in the video above.
As for other potential targets that could be available, Indiana's Victor Oladipo has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate, and Dallas reportedly will be at the "head of the line" if Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes a free agent this offseason.