Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Jrue Holiday destined to stay put in Milwaukee?

The Milwaukee Bucks are certainly feeling the effects of not having Jrue Holiday available over the last week.

Milwaukee has slid into a three-game losing streak while Holiday has been in the league’s health and safety protocols for over the last week and no official update has yet been made on his status and when he can restart basketball activities.

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While the Bucks continue to soldier on without their leading guard, Holiday’s long-term future in Milwaukee has been a topic of discussion that has simmered on in the background as the season has gone by.

Given the serious amount of draft capital the Bucks parted with to acquire Holiday, they will certainly do everything in their power to secure his services for the long-term.

According to a recent report from Jake Fischer over at Bleacher Report, there is a general expectation that Holiday stays put in Milwaukee for the long-term:

"“Plenty of teams will have max cap space available for a market that no longer will include star free agents such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert or Paul George. Jrue Holiday appears destined to stay put in Milwaukee as well.”"

As Fischer mentions, the number of potential free agents that would have normally headlined this coming offseason’s free agency, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, are all locked down long-term with their respective teams. That, in turn, would trickle into Holiday’s possible free agency, should he go into the summer and turn down his $26 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent.

Jrue Holiday is eligible for a max extension from the Milwaukee Bucks later this month.

The one wrinkle Milwaukee has to their advantage is that Holiday is will be eligible for a max extension starting on February 26.

A maximum extension for the 30-year-old is $135 million over four years, and should he be interested in securing such a deal, that would keep him in Milwaukee and under contract until the summer of 2026, right alongside when Antetokounmpo’s supermax deal ends if he doesn’t opt out in 2025.

But as I explored in that aforementioned piece, that number is less than what Holiday could make on the open market if he were to enter free agency this summer. The most Holiday could command on the open market is a four-year, $169.2 million contract as Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype reported earlier this month.

As he continues to hold all of the cards and leverage in this situation, Holiday has spoken glowingly about his growing time with the Bucks since his arrival to Milwaukee in late November.

If his absence hasn’t already shown, Holiday’s value to the Bucks has brought a different dimension than they didn’t have previously. As all Bucks fans await for his return to the court and any and all updates on his health, his long-term future is still on the minds of many moving forward.