Los Angeles Lakers: Why Jrue Holiday would be a perfect trade acquisition

Jrue Holiday has been an elite defender throughout his career

On JJ Redick’s new podcast “The Old Man and the Three”, one of his first guests was all-world point guard Damian Lillard. The whole interview was a great listen, but one comment especially stood out to me.

When JJ asked Dame “who’s the best defender at guarding you in the whole NBA?”, without hesitation Dame responded “Jrue Holiday“.

It’s not the first time I’ve heard this sentiment echoed by Holiday’s peers, with Kevin Durant also effusive in his praise for Holiday’s defense during his appearance on JJ’s podcast.

"“Jrue Holiday is solidified as probably the best defender in the league at the guard position,” he said. “When we talk about defense, a lot of people don’t really understand what defense really means. “For different positions, especially at point guard, the stuff you have to do to guard, they don’t get a lot of credit for fighting over screens especially now they getting screened at half court, guys are running off of pindowns.” “You put Jrue in any system, any coach is going to ask him to guard the best player”, he said. “We played them in 2018, second round and he guarded me the whole series. He was picking me up full court, he was guarding me in the post. Actually, it was tough to dribble on Jrue Holiday. He slides his feet so well, he’s got good hands, he’s strong, he’s got good instincts. “I gained a lot of respect for him in that series because he went from guarding me to Klay (Thompson) to Steph (Curry) to guarding Draymond (Green), neutralizing picks and rolls. He’s special. He’s special on that side of the ball.”"

When two of the league’s best offensive players speak so highly about a player’s defensive acumen, you take notice.

For the advanced stat-nerds out there, you’re probably aware that the advanced numbers for the 2019-20 season paint Holiday as merely an above-average defender and the same goes for the 2018-19 season.

However, according to The Bird Writes, during the 2019-20 season:

"Holiday finished second in deflections (4.1 per game) and ninth in steals. In addition, he finished third in defensive loose balls recovered, fourth in blocks per game and 14th in contested shots among guards."

Additionally, BBall Index states that for the season, he guarded “Mega Creators” 10.2% of the time, which is in the 99th percentile for the whole NBA.

So, Holiday’s advanced defensive stats for the previous season merely being above-average is a whole lot more impressive when you take into context the sheer volume of possessions he’s asked to guard the opposing team’s best player.

A huge reason for the Lakers’ 2019-20 NBA Championship was their suffocating defense. However, if we’re nitpicking the rotation for weaknesses, their two best wing defenders, Alex Caruso, and Danny Green, don’t strike fear into the hearts of opposing defenses.

A trade for Holiday would not only add an elite wing defender to the team but one that’s a legitimate two-way player and a threat to score every time he touches the ball.

The only downside I can see in attempting to trade for Holiday is that the Lakers might not have enough capital to make a deal happen.

One season ago, Kyle Kuzma was seen as a potential key piece in the trade with New Orleans that netted Anthony Davis. However, after a relatively disappointing 2019-20 season, would a package with Kuzma and this year’s first-round pick as the centerpiece (essentially recreating the “Baby Lakers” in the process) be enticing enough to pry Holiday from New Orleans? It’ll definitely require some creative thinking by Rob Pelinka and the front office.

However, if the Los Angeles Lakers can muster up enough capital to make a trade for Holiday possible, I think he’s the perfect target for them this offseason.

What offseason moves would you like the Lakers’ front office to pursue? As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below.