Why the Lakers shouldn't trade for Jrue Holiday

A big trade went down in the NBA on Wednesday as Damian Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal.

Milwaukee traded away Jrue Holiday in the deal, who the Portland Trail Blazers intend to facilitate to another team. The Lakers are one of the teams interested in Holiday.

LA had a tremendous offseason, re-signing Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura while extending Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt. They also signed Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Christian Wood, and Jaxson Hayes while drafting Jalen-Hood Schifino and Maxwell Lewis.

The plan was evident for Rob Pelinka: keep continuity on the roster and add more depth around LeBron James and Davis.

However, the Lakers are now interested in Holiday. The two-time All-Star guard is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and a quality scorer. He played with Davis in New Orleans and has also played for Darvin Ham when Ham was an assistant coach in Milwaukee.

*If the Lakers want to trade for Holiday, they would have to wait until December 15th when they are eligible to trade players they signed or re-signed this offseason

The 33-year-old guard averaged 19/5/7 with 1.2 steals last season, shooting 47.9% from the floor and 38.4% from three.

Holiday is an elite guard and would fit well in Ham’s system. He has two years remaining on his deal for $72 million, with a player option for the final season. Holiday has expressed a desire to retire after his current contract.

Although Holiday is talented and would be a good fit, it would cost the Lakers a ton. They would have to give up two or three rotational players to match salaries and draft compensation.

The roster LA has constructed fits well, and their superior depth over other teams makes them a title contender. While Holiday is an excellent fit on paper, the Lakers have tried a big three with weaker depth with James, Davis, and Russell Westbrook.

It didn’t work out, and Pelinka learned his lesson and focused on adding elite depth. Their depth around James and Davis is what turned around their season last year, and they built on it this offseason.

The Lakers should stand pat and not make a trade for Holiday that would cost multiple rotational players and draft picks.