Milwaukee Bucks: Putting together the best trade offer for Jrue Holiday

With the bidding war for New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday reportedly underway, we look at the most competitive trade offer the Milwaukee Bucks may put together.

As the Milwaukee Bucks look to make a substantial splash on the trade market this offseason, Jrue Holiday is a name that continues coming up in discussions.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Wednesday that the New Orleans Pelicans are in the process of openly discussing trades involving Holiday with multiple contending teams in pursuit. While Milwaukee isn’t mentioned among them, it’s not hard to connect the dots between what they need this offseason and what Holiday brings to the table.

Holiday checks off all of the boxes for Milwaukee in their search for an upgrade in the backcourt, although putting together an enticing trade package will certainly be a tall task.

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Of course, in order to vie for those services amidst a bidding war for the 30-year-old, the Bucks have to put together an enticing trade package that suits the interest of the Pelicans, who are clearly operating from a position of strength at this point.

With two years and $50 million left on his current deal, which includes a $26.2 million player option for the 2020-21 season, Holiday would be an expensive, but digestible acquisition.

Milwaukee’s asset assemblage is depleted as is, but if they were to try and piece together a proposal towards New Orleans, a realistic offering might look something like this:

It is no secret that the Bucks by no means have the most enticing trade package for Holiday.

Yahoo! Sports’ Vincent Goodwill reported late last month that the Denver Nuggets are chief among those in hot pursuit of the veteran guard. With their mix of young, developing players and draft picks, they have flexible trade pieces that could easily suit the Pelicans’ front office in particular.

The Milwaukee Bucks are essentially limited to veteran pieces and mid-tier salaries to put together an offer to land someone of Holiday’s caliber in any trade.

That’s especially so when the Bucks have very few of their own first rounders in their possession for foreseeable drafts.

Brook Lopez is a name that Milwaukee could potentially dangle in any trade discussions to sweeten the deal, even as he is owed $39.8 million over the next three seasons. The Pelicans’ frontcourt could be overhauled, and while they have second-year center Jaxson Hayes on their roster, Lopez’s skill set could do wonders next to Zion Williamson. Yet it’s hard to envision wanting to part with someone so integral to their overall system.

Looking strictly at the current offer above, the Pelicans would get another defensive-minded guard in Bledsoe, an expiring contract in Ilyasova, an ascending two-way wing in DiVincenzo, and a first round draft pick. Meanwhile, Milwaukee gets the star guard they need in Holiday.

Any hope for this trade might just be a pipe dream, but it is a realistic offer that Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst would have to put forth to get into the conversation.

Without question, though, Holiday is a needle tipping addition for any contender, especially for a Bucks team that is in the position they are in right now. Just last season, Holiday averaged 19.1 points on .455/.353/.709 shooting splits, 6.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. As one of the best two-way guards in the entire association, Holiday’s league-wide interest is entirely justifiable.

For the Bucks, Holiday would be an immediate upgrade over their current starting guard in Bledsoe. He is just as good, if not better, a defender as Bledsoe, a more capable floor spacer, a more prominent playmaker, and a cut above as a scorer.

Pulling off a move for Jrue Holiday will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Still, the Bucks will have to exhaust all options when it comes to acquiring him or a player of his caliber in such a critical offseason.