The Lakers recently signed Marcus Smart after the Wizards agreed to buy out his contract. The former Defensive Player of the Year was seen as a signing with the intention to bolster their defense in the backcourt, something that Luka Doncic was heavily criticized for in the Playoffs.
Yet, following the acquisition, the next name that popped up in prominent and credible trade rumors for the Lakers was the defensive maestro, Jrue Holiday. Widely regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, Holiday essentially plays a similar role on the team that Marcus Smart does.
Hence, among NBA fans, the Lakers supporters were particularly perplexed to see these rumors from credible sources. They took to social media and expressed their opinions on how bizarre it would be to have two veterans playing the same role on the roster. One of them is bound to be displeased if the move goes through.
“This makes no sense whatsoever.”
“Why would you sign Smart, then trade for Jrue? This is stupid.”
“Does this account just make up sh**?”
“Don’t think the Blazers would trade Jrue rn now that they got Dame. Looks like they wanna remain decently competitive while also mentoring the young guys.”
“Hard pass on this old ass w/ a horrible contract that’s still got 3 years left. And also hard pass b/c of what it’d cost to get him in terms of trade assets. This is the kinda move Bron & his stans would love. We trynna get younger & build around Luka now. Hard pass.”
“What a stupid idea, man.”
“How would the Lakers have the salary cap space for this??”
The fans brought up some interesting points to consider for the Lakers and the Trail Blazers as well, if this move were to be set in motion. Firstly, it’s the question of the Trail Blazers’ willingness to let Jrue Holiday be traded. While he averaged only 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in the last season, he had a defensive rating of 112.6, which is very strong in today’s NBA.
After the recent signing of Damian Lillard, who will not be fit until the summer of 2026, to join the team and trading away Anfernee Simmons for Jrue Holiday, it is unlikely that the Trail Blazers will trade Holiday now.
Especially when the Lakers cannot give a veteran point guard in return who brings anything close to what Jrue Holiday brings to the table for their team. They need a leader for their young core of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan, and Holiday fits that role perfectly.
Secondly, there is the question of why the Lakers would do something like this. While it is clear that in order to please LeBron James, they could want to bring in pieces that make them a championship contender, the Lakers have clarified that Doncic is the central piece of their rebuild now, and having Smart and Holiday on the same roster does not seem conducive for the long run.
Thirdly, the finances. Holiday is expecting salaries of over $30 million in cap space over the next three seasons (including a player option). The Lakers reportedly wanted to clear their salary cap space for the summer of 2027, when Holiday could demand $37.2 million from them. Therefore, all signals point to it being unlikely that the Lakers will see Holiday as a viable target, now that they have Marcus Smart, especially.
