Many viewed Jrue Holiday as the next potential trade domino to fall in Portland after Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin made the bold trade for Ja Morant. Not only is that Morant trade already paying off for Portland in a significant way, but so is their decision to retain Holiday despite the guard logjam.
The Blazers were confident the crowded backcourt would work, viewing it as a strength rather than a problem that needed to be solved by trading away a valuable piece such as Holiday. It's hard to argue with the results early on, with Portland sitting at 3-0 in large part thanks to the backcourt working to the Blazers ' advantage just as Cronin envisioned.
It's the unselfishness and versatility of these star guards that allows this to be a strength instead of a hindrance for Portland. There's no better example of that than Holiday buying into that sixth man role this season.
Jrue Holiday is the perfect sixth man in Portland
So far he's averaging 14.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. That's a drastic dip in offensive production compared to last season, where Holiday was the key secondary playmaker alongside Deni Avdija. That's no longer the case with Morant and Lillard now in the picture. However, we're also seeing through this early-season success that the Blazers are better off because of it.
The amount of versatility and depth they have in the backcourt is similar to what GM Sam Presti has even built with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The ball is constantly moving because everyone is multi-dimensional when it comes to ball-handling, shooting, or playmaking.
Defensively, that depth gives Micah Nori more fresh bodies to rotate, putting tremendous and consistent pressure out on the perimeter for all 48 minutes.
The decision to keep Holiday in Portland (this time) is proving crucial in the success Portland has had under Nori to start the season. It wouldn't have been surprising if the Blazers even started slow to the season because of how many moving parts they had this offseason. A first-year head coach that's still experimenting with what works best, as far as a wonky roster full of point guards and centers but lacking wing depth.
Holiday has been that glue guy filling in all these holes in the roster, and it's made all the difference in Portland's hot 3-0 start.
Jrue Holiday at small forward fills roster holes for Blazers
Besides embracing that sixth man role so well, his positional versatility has even covered the Blazers' lack of wing depth surprisingly well. They're still vulnerable should an injury pop up over the course of the season, but Holiday is filling the void left by offseason departures of Jerami Grant, Kris Murray, and Matisse Thybulle incredibly well.
Last season Holiday played 75 percent of his minutes at point guard and the remaining 25 percent at shooting guard. That hasn't been the case under Nori, especially with all these wings and forwards gone. Through three games, Holiday is 1 percent point guard, 56 percent shooting guard, and 43 percent small forward.
That small forward position isn't something he's technically played since 2020 with the New Orleans Pelicans. But by now, he's proven more than capable of playing up a position or two.
It's easy to see why Holiday is a two-time champion. These winning qualities -- unselfishness, versatility, and leadership -- elevate rosters wherever he goes. He helped get this team to the playoffs last season, and now that seamless fit alongside other stars should help Portland make a deeper run this season.
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