Philadelphia 76ers Receive: G Jrue Holiday
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: G/F Ben Simmons
One All-Star talent for another is what this deal looks like for the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.
At 31-years-old, Jrue Holiday is getting older, but he is playing some of the best basketball of his career in Milwaukee and has been such an important piece to their championship puzzle. It is not a coincidence that the Milwaukee Bucks won a championship in Holiday’s first season with the team and he is one of the most disrespected defenders in the entire league.
Being named to the All-Defensive team just three times over the course of his 12-year NBA career is just flat out wrong, as Jrue Holiday may be one of the best overall defenders in the league next to guys like Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart, Draymond Green, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Holiday was one of the main reasons the Bucks won the title over the Suns this past season and he played a huge role on the United States Olympic Basketball Team that took home gold in Tokyo this past summer.
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Of course, there are advantages to bringing in Ben Simmons at the cost of Jrue Holiday for the Milwaukee Bucks, but given all of their success with the veteran guard and all the negative attention that would come with Ben Simmons, this is not really a move that the Bucks are thinking about right now.
As for Philadelphia, this would be the perfect trade for them in terms of retaining one of the best defenders in the league and a championship-worthy point guard.
One of the 76ers’ biggest question marks following their loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season was if Ben Simmons could be the point guard on a championship-level team.
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Doc Rivers did not seem to think so, but he definitely feels a different way about Jrue Holiday! The veteran point guard has proven time and time again to be an elite-level defender, he has averaged 16.0 points per game over the course of his career, and he recently won a title with Milwaukee, giving Philadelphia everything they need in a trade involving Simmons.
There is value to be had for both the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks in this trade, but would this trade ultimately help both teams reach their goals of contending for a title this season?
