Warriors News: Jrue Holiday Ranks No.1 on Stephen Curry’s Wishlist as Offseason Looms Large

Last year was turbulent for the Golden State Warriors. In the middle of the season, an alarming video went viral. Draymond Green, the veteran general on the team, was seen punching Jordan Poole, considered the next cornerstone. It completely changed the dynamics within the team. The tensions were palpable. All the Bay needed to do was pull off one move to end the misery. They had the opportunity in the offseason. Little did they know, even Stephen Curry wished to play with this star.

“Guys that you would want to play with for whatever reason, like you, have a list that comes to mind. I’ll start. Jrue Holiday is the one guy for me. I have so much respect for him as a basketball player and what he can do out there,” said the four-time champion on his new podcast ‘Heat Check’. “But he just seems like a great locker room guy, a great leader. Anybody that has played with him, talk about him you know, nothing but great things are said about him. He’s one that comes to mind for me as a guy I would like to play with”

Holiday was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers when the Milwaukee Bucks traded for superstar Damian Lillard. It was known he would go to a contender. The Warriors at the time were amongst the teams who were interested. The stipulation was simple – they had to send some young budding stars along with the aging Chris Paul. It would have been the ideal move as they could have offloaded Poole to cut the tension and Holiday would fit into the role of Paul.

Not only would Holiday solidify the Warriors as a grueling defensive unit, but he is also five years younger than CP3. In the long run, the Bay would have stood the chance to compete for a fifth title with the former Bucks point guard.

At the end of the day, the Warriors didn’t pull the strings. The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, showed no hesitation. They shipped two first-round picks along with shot blockers – Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon in exchange for the 34-year-old pit bull defender. The trade paid its dividends instantly.

The Boston Celtics took advantage of Stephen Curry and the Warriors’ reluctance

After a trip to the NBA Finals two seasons ago and a Conference Finals appearance last season, Brad Stevens knew Boston was closer to a title. He needed to map out a few restructuring moves to change the power dynamics. At first, he traded for star center Kristaps Porziņģis from the Wizards. Later, Holiday came as a spontaneous buy as the opportunity presented itself.

The defensive stalwart would go on to average 12.5 points and 4.8 assists per game in the regular season. He and Derrick White became the most feared defensive backcourt in the NBA. For his thunderous impact as the lead stopper, Holiday was named into the All-NBA Defensive First Team for the sixth time in his career.

In the postseason, he played bigger than ever. Holiday slid into any holes that hampered the Celtics. He could grab 10 rebounds, become the initiator, and if needed even score. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Jrue Holiday proved to be the difference maker not just scoring a team-high 26 points but also limiting Kyrie Irving to 16.

In fact, Joel Embiid also pointed out the same in Game 3 of the NBA finals. While the Celtics were going lethal on the Mavs, Embiid suddenly posted a tweet contemplating, “Did the bucks give them the championship?”. Truly, anyone losing out on the talent and supremacy that Holiday possesses is probably scratching their heads in regret. 

And it’s a shame that a player of Holiday’s caliber just landed in the laps of Boston without much contest. If only the Warriors would have pushed the agenda, maybe Stephen Curry wouldn’t be wishing that he could play with the 34-year-old who is one game away from a second career championship. Ironically, Warriors forward Draymond Green blamed the Bucks for ‘gifting’ the championship to Boston when, in fact, the Warriors turned blind to the opportunity.

If you want to know more about the NBA postseason, make sure to watch our exclusive conversation with Leonard Armato, a revered brand builder in this video.