The Portland Trail Blazers made a blockbuster addition of Ja Morant this summer, which consequently created the expectation that Jrue Holiday’s time with the franchise could be over with the impending return of Damian Lillard.
Adding Scoot Henderson to this list, the Trail Blazers currently have four starting-caliber point guards and five solid guards (including Shaedon Sharpe). Therefore, there was a reasonable expectation around the league that the 36-year-old Holiday would be the first one headed out to balance out the roster.
But according to Jake L. Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Trail Blazers have no intention to buy out Holiday and have consistently been rejecting trade offers for him.
“I don’t know what was happening on Facebook, or Instagram, or whatever. But there was some type of graphic going around that prompted several Sixers fans in my life to reach out to me and text me this graphic that was claiming that Jrue Holiday was working on a buyout agreement with the Trail Blazers for him to be the latest superteam addition in Philadelphia.”
“That is not anywhere close to the reality. We have confirmed again, and we’ve been reporting this since the Trail Blazers acquired Ja Morant back earlier in this offseason cycle.”
“Even with that trade, the Trail Blazers have envisioned Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, and Jrue Holiday all playing in the same backcourt. They have also rejected any trade interest in Jrue Holiday up to this point in the summer.”
“If they were to trade Holiday, Portland would likely find some good value for him in the trade market. So to that degree, they are certainly not expecting to do a buyout agreement with him. They want him in Portland.”
“Joe Cronin kind of wanted to keep Jrue Holiday in Portland when they first got him in exchange for Damian Lillard… And then Portland swooped back and acquired Jrue Holiday once again last year when the Celtics needed to cut some costs to avoid the second apron.”
“And there hasn’t been any indication to me that Portland doesn’t value Jrue Holiday. They value him quite a bit… So don’t expect any change in Jrue Holiday’s circumstances moving forward,” said Fischer on Bleacher Report’s Insider Notebook.
“Had plenty of Sixers fan friends text me graphics, but no… Jrue Holiday is not in talks with Portland about securing a buyout, per sources, and is therefore not bound for Philadelphia or any team aside from the Trail Blazers,” Fischer also wrote on X.
The 36-year-old guard has grown as a veteran locker room presence for this young roster over the last year, in Lillard’s absence. He ended the 2025-26 season averaging 16.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.6 rebounds while going 45.1% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc.
There are two sides to this coin, which represents the conflict that the Trail Blazers face. On one side, a player of Holiday’s caliber may not accept coming off the bench, especially since he can still contribute at such a high level. They could figure out a three-guard lineup, but it would still require two solid starting-caliber players to come off the bench.
Theoretically, the only solution here seems to be that Henderson and Morant come off the bench, and Sharpe plays the small forward position instead of a guard. Considering his size and ability to be a consistent 20-point threat, Sharpe should remain a starter among the guards.
This hypothetical lineup would require Deni Avdija to play the power forward while Donovan Clingan starts as the center. But another conflict that could arise here is that Avdija is a small forward and currently the face of the franchise. Therefore, playing him in that role may be considered more suitable.
Hence, the Trail Blazers are presented with a complex problem of figuring out the point guard logjam on their roster, especially when reports suggest that they are not willing to trade any of them. It will be very fascinating to see how the Trail Blazers figure out the solution to this problem.
