Rockets can turn Ja Morant trade chaos into bold Jrue Holiday move

In a surprising move, the Portland Trail Blazers reportedly traded for Ja Morant. The move creates a bit of a logjam at point guard for Portland, raising the question: could the Trail Blazers be looking to move one of their other guards, specifically Jrue Holiday?

In his prime, Holiday was a borderline All-Star who competed hard on every possession and could give you 20 points on any given night. He is not in his prime anymore.

Holiday is 36 years old. He is on a large contract with two guaranteed years left. However, he is still a smart player who knows how to play winning basketball. He may not be an All-Defense-level defender anymore, but he is still a savvy defender and is capable of scoring important baskets on a good team.

Overall, he is a player who could help this young Houston Rockets core. The only question is how Houston could obtain Holiday’s services. The answer? Fred VanVleet.

Houston should swap VanVleet for Holiday

Fred VanVleet makes comparable money to Holiday, so the trade would be fairly straightforward from a salary-matching perspective. The only question is whether both teams would be happy with that type of deal.

The logic is actually fairly simple. Portland would be getting a player back who is on an expiring contract, which would give the Trail Blazers more financial flexibility next summer. Houston would get back a player who is more likely to contribute to winning over the next couple of seasons.

VanVleet is a good player, but he has some question marks heading into next season. The track record for aging, undersized guards is already shaky, and VanVleet is also coming off a serious injury. That adds another layer of uncertainty for a Rockets team that is trying to win right now.

Holiday is four years older than VanVleet, but he is bigger, more athletic and still put up over 16 points and six assists per game last season. Like VanVleet, Holiday is also known to be an excellent locker room presence. 

All in all, adding a point guard who is more of a two-way force, while still being capable of leading the offense on and off the floor, would be a huge benefit to Houston going into next season.

This would be an aggressive move for a front office that seems comfortable with the current roster construction, but it is a swap that could make the team better over the next couple of seasons. Rafael Stone should pull the trigger.

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