When the Portland Trail Blazers acquired Jrue Holiday this summer, the response was tepid. Fans wondered (fairly) why the Blazers, in the midst of a rebuild, would take on a 35 year-old point guard with three years left on his contract whose production had declined sharply in recent years.
The perception of the trade deteriorated further when rumors sprouted about Holiday's interest (or lack thereof) in being a Blazer. The idea of taking cool fit pictures with Jerami Grant and playing video games with Yang Hansen didn't sell him, apparently.
But any misgivings about this trade quickly dissipated when the season actually started; through four games, Holiday has looked spry on the court, providing the steadying presence that has made him such a vaunted teammate throughout his career.
He's scored 20-plus in the past two games and has posted at least 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in every game thus far. You couldn't dream up a better fit for this Blazers team. Well, I don't want to police your dreams, but Holiday is a perfect fit on an otherwise young Blazers team nonetheless.
Now the biggest potential downside of the trade — Holiday having three years left on his deal — is starting to look like a positive. Like, yeah, more Holiday sounds great! Keep him around as long as possible! Even if by the third year, when Holiday is officially in his late-30s, he's more of a veteran leader than a reliable every-night player — that would be fine! In the meantime, Holiday is bringing far more than just pep talks in the locker room, and early returns show that Joe Cronin may have cooked here.
I always liked the trade, for the record. Everyone compliment me, please. It's how I obtain energy.
Jrue Holiday is a stabilizing force in the Blazers backcourt
Holiday is not a luxury for the Blazes, either — he's a necessity. He was acquired for Anfernee Simons, the team's leading scorer last year, and it's not like the team has a cache of guards they can trot out every night. Scoot Henderson remains a big question mark (and is currently injured), Shaedon Sharpe has incredibly high upside but he's never going to be much of a facilitator, and Blake Wesley has emerged as a fun story but isn't a high-usage guy at this point.
So the onus falls on Holiday to be the leader of this backcourt, and he's answering the call early on. In fact, Holiday's style and attitude fit Portland so well, it's a little shocking he's never been a Blazer before this. Okay, I guess he technically has been, when the Blazers acquired him from Milwaukee, but he was quickly shipped off to Boston, so that doesn't count.
Now, Holiday is a Blazer in earnest and it took him one week to become a fan favorite in PDX, just as he was a fan favorite in all his other stops. Much of that love comes from the brand of basketball Holiday plays; smart, consistent, engaged at all times. If he makes a mistake, it's rarely from a mental mistake, and that makes him an easy guy to root for, and a godsend for Thiago Splitter, who was forced to take over the team while Chauncey Billups is under FBI investigation. What a sentence!
Maybe Holiday is on board with the idea of taking fit pictures with Jerami Grant and playing video games with Yang Hansen after all, because he hasn't exhibited any signs of bitterness in his early days with the franchise.
If anyone has insider information about either of those things, please contact Rip City Project immediately. It's extremely important. In the meantime, please enjoy watching Jrue Holiday playing basketball.