Will the Nuggets try trading for Jrue Holiday this offseason?

The Denver Nuggets had interest in trading for Jrue Holiday before the trade deadline. Their performance in the postseason should keep that interest alive.

Although the Denver Nuggets have performed admirably this postseason, it’s quite clear that in order to become a legitimate favorite in the Western Conference, that they need one more piece to get them over the top. After the Nuggets displayed interest in New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday prior to the 2020 trade deadline, one has to wonder whether or not Denver will explore trading for the two-time All-Defensive team selection.

Having Holiday — who averaged 19.1 points and 6.7 assists per game in 2019-20 — in the starting lineup would give the team a three-headed beast. He and Jamal Murray will take turns slicing up the defense as the highly-skilled Nikola Jokic continues to show off his dynamic offensive game.

While Michael Porter Jr. is a special scorer and undoubtedly part of the team’s championship puzzle, playing beside Murray and Jokic gives him fewer opportunities to impact the game offensively because he plays off of them and defers to them. Whether or not MPJ will head back into the starting lineup anytime soon is also a question, with Nuggets head coach Michael Malone noting that both Murray nor Jokic had to earn their starting spot.

All that said, the biggest question is what package could the Nuggets offer to the Pelicans that would entice their front office to surrender one of their best players.

As it was noted when the Nuggets were initially said to have interest in Holiday, such a trade would likely come at the expense of Gary Harris.

Though it’s honestly a toss-up as to who’s a better defender between Harris and Holiday, there’s no question that Holiday is a better offensive player. Adding Will Barton, a playmaking wing who can make a defensive impact, does seem to even the trade out though.

Now, while draft compensation would be a plus, the Nuggets only have the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and their future picks would be less valuable than that one. However, as New Orleans has the 13th pick in the upcoming draft, they could either select two young pieces or package the two first-round picks to move a bit higher up in the draft.

They could even opt to trade both of those picks along with either Harris or Barton in an attempt to add more pieces to the team.

While the Pelicans may not bite on the trade, it’s been seen before how a team can eventually acquire a player if they want him bad enough.

It’s unknown how the Nuggets really covet Jrue but if they can get him, there will be a holiday in Denver indeed.