No. 2 – Justin Holiday is affordable for the Milwaukee Bucks
With the Indiana Pacers reportedly heading toward a slim rebuild, they should be receptive of trade talks centered around their veteran players, including Justin Holiday. Holiday will most likely be available for the Milwaukee Bucks to pursue, and he’s also on an affordable contract.
Justin Holiday is owed $6 million this season and then guaranteed $6.2 million the following year. His contract is certainly gettable, so many contending teams should be interested in acquiring him such as the Bucks, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, and Chicago Bulls.
The Milwaukee Bucks are deep into the luxury tax, which limits their financial flexibility when searching for potential deals to complete, but Justin Holiday is one of the more realistic and affordable assets on the market that they can pursue.
An offer of guard Donte DiVincenzo and forward Semi Ojeleye could get a deal done, and the Bucks can include a second-round pick as well. Ojeleye would just serve as a salary filler with his $1.7 million expiring contract, but DiVincenzo would be the main asset attached to entice Indiana.
DiVincenzo will be a restricted free agent this offseason and it’s unlikely that Milwaukee will re-sign him after extending Grayson Allen to a two-year, up to $20 million contract, so trading him for another valuable rotation piece like Justin Holiday for at least one and a half seasons would be well worth it.
From the Pacers’ perspective, they could be intrigued by landing DiVincenzo and seeing how well the 25-year-old performs before making a decision on him in the offseason. They would hold his bird rights if acquired as well.
While Justin Holiday is an affordable and valuable target for the Milwaukee Bucks to pursue, a trade would also benefit the Indiana Pacers as they look to retool the roster.