3 Reasons the Jazz were right to avoid Jrue Holiday
By Matt John
The Utah Jazz had the chance to get Jrue Holiday back in 2023 but ultimately passed, as Holiday refused to commit to them past 2024, as The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen reported not too long after Holiday was traded to the Celtics.
"In the preseason, the team was interested in trading for 33-year-old Jrue Holiday — before Holiday’s feedback that he wouldn’t be interested in extending his contract with the Jazz scuttled talks."
Larsen also explained why the Jazz had interest in Holiday to begin with.
"That move would have given the team a lift in the short term while also helping the Jazz’s young guards develop. It was a move the Jazz were willing and excited to make if it had come at the right price."
The Celtics acquired Holiday instead, and one year later, they're now the reigning NBA champions. Holiday would have been a good addition to the Jazz beyond how Larsen described his appeal to the Jazz. He's one of the best perimeter guard defenders in the league, and he had a championship and multiple All-Star Game appearances to his name.
But there's a fair case for why the Jazz were right to steer clear of him, and that goes beyond the fact that he wouldn't re-sign with them.
1. They would have been on borrowed time with Holiday
Holiday is 34 years old, meaning he doesn't have many years left to play at the level he has throughout his career. While the Jazz could have used his positive influence, there's no telling if that would have led to positive results on the floor., whether right away or in a few years' time.
It's why Holiday fit better on a team trying to win big immediately rather than a team merely developing a playoff contender over the next few years.