Jrue Holiday

Sixers Won't Get Jrue Holiday in Okafor Trade

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:53 p.m. ET

Fansided, Josh Wilson/FanSided via The Sixer Sense

The Philadelphia 76ers were involved in NBA trade rumors on Monday afternoon involving Jahlil Okafor and the Pelicans. They won’t get Holiday as a result.

The Philadelphia 76ers finally made their move and broke the minor standstill in the NBA trade rumors on Monday afternoon.

Shortly after naming Jahlil Okafor as the starter for Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons, the team was rumored to be involved in trade talks with the New Orleans Pelicans to ship Okafor.

The initial reports said that the Sixers were aiming for a first round pick from the Pelicans, and that a protection argument was the hold-up. The Pelicans wanted it lottery protected, while the Sixers, of course, wanted it to be protected in the 5-10 range.

Another key piece was that the Sixers recently were rumored to be interested in Jrue Holiday as a free agent option this summer. Holiday is a former Sixers that would be good for Philly moving forward, now in a different spot in his career.

So it seemed as if he was a logical reciprocal piece for Philadelphia, but Keith Smith reported that Holiday would ultimately not become a part of the deal.

If the Sixers can’t get a first-round pick out of the Pelicans that’s not protected in the 5-10 range, and they also can’t get Jrue Holiday out of the deal, another piece they may pursue is rookie Buddy Hield, though it seems doubtful the Pelicans would be quick to give him up.

There’s a lot of hoops to jump through in these trade scenarios, and both teams clearly want it to work out in their favor. Finding a happy medium may be hard to do, but for now, the trade seems imminent.