Utah Jazz: Potential Point Guard Targets if George Hill Can’t Be Retained

Jrue Holiday

The Jrue Holiday to the Jazz narrative has surfaced from time to time this season, and with him set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, it’s an idea that has come up even more. It’s definitely an intriguing prospect and as a solid starter himself, Holiday could do a very nice job of filling in for Hill.

At just 26 years old Holiday certainly has a lot more left in the tank and in that regard may very well be a better fitting long-term option. On the season, he’s averaging 15.7 points per game, which is slightly less than Hill this season, but Jrue is a tremendous playmaker at 7.3 assists per game.

In terms of career numbers, though, Holiday has a significant edge over Hill at 14.3 points and 6.2 assists per game whereas Hill’s career numbers are 11.7 points and 3.3 assists. It took coming to a new team and a great fit with the Jazz for Hill to prove his real worth and Holiday could very well benefit from a similar move.

Given that Holiday’s best season where he averaged 17.7 points and eight assists per game came in his final year in Philly before moving to New Orleans, it would appear that a change of scenery could very well help jump-start Holiday back to those former numbers. He’s certainly an excellent point man who’s great at running an offense and setting up his teammates, so in that respect he would fit the same need that Hill has this season.

I personally really like the idea of adding Holiday from a style, fit and talent standpoint and would say he’s likely my favorite free agent prospect on this list. However, he does bring with him a few concerns that would also make me somewhat hesitant about the Jazz adding him.

First and foremost has been Holiday’s injury woes. Jazz fans have had a tendency to complain about Hill missing games this season, but his issues have been minor compared to what Holiday has gone through as a Pelican. Now in his fourth season in New Orleans, Holiday has missed a total of 122 of a possible 314 games. That’s over a third of the games that he’s been sidelined for.

The trend has certainly improved over the past two seasons, but it’s still definitely a reason for concern.

The other worry I’d have with Jrue Holiday is that he most certainly isn’t the defender that George Hill is. That’s not to say he’s a bad defender by any means, but he would likely be a step backwards for the Jazz in that regard. He does have a little more size and speed than Hill and does average more steals per game, however, so there is potential for a defensive-minded coach and teammates to help Holiday find his groove in that area.

Last of all, while Holiday would be a very nice consolation prize if Hill were to bolt in free agency, it seems that given Hill’s fit and apparent happiness in Utah, the main reason why he would leave would be if Utah wasn’t willing to give him the max and he was offered it elsewhere.

Interestingly enough, reports have indicated that Holiday himself will be worthy of at least a “near-max” deal, so if Hill leaves because Utah doesn’t want to meet his hefty salary demands, it seems unlikely that they would pay nearly the same amount for Holiday.

Therefore, that in itself could likely make him a less than realistic option, but if for some reason Hill bolts for reasons that aren’t financial or if Holiday’s salary demands are significantly less hefty than Hill’s, this could very well be the best possible free agent pick-up for the Jazz.

As a player that I’ve been quite fond of for most of his career, I personally hope that Holiday finds a home that’s a bit better suited to his skills than New Orleans, be it Utah or elsewhere. He’s definitely declined since joining the Pelicans, but I believe he has a lot left in his tank and could be a major contributor elsewhere.

And while my preference would be to keep Hill, if that ends up not being an option then I would love to see Holiday get that fresh start in a Jazz uniform.