Jrue Holiday is ready for more | Bleacher's report

When the NBA 2019 lottery project was over and the Pelicans had somehow earned Zion Williamson's editor rights, Jrue Holiday began to dream of the future. The last six years have been especially frustrating. There have been casualties, brief play-offs (if any) and, more recently, an exchange request from franchise player Anthony Davis. With Williamson on board, everything could be different.

Extatic, Holiday grabbed her phone and cut off the flow of incoming messages to find her oldest teammate. "The first person I sent a text to was Anthony," he says now. "Because at the time we still had Anthony, you think Sion and Anthony together are like … but …" his sentence hisses. "Uh, yes, yes."

The notion fell a month after the triumph of the lottery when the pelicans acquiesced to Davis' commercial demand. On June 15, they agreed to send Davis to the Lakers for three young players – Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart – and a gift basket of choice.

Following the transaction, Holiday met with the new Executive Vice President of Pelicans Basketball Operations, David Griffin, to discuss the team's journey and his own. The Davis Accord marked a youth movement in New Orleans. It would have been fair that Holiday requires an exchange, especially in this greenhouse league, and even more in the West, where almost all teams could hold a playoff series in April.

But Holiday, who has not done melodrama throughout his 10-year career, told Griffin he preferred to stay, to build something solid and durable. "I've never wanted to move a lot to try to win," Holiday says. "It's comforting to stay in one place and it's hard to find the right pieces."

The pelicans were delighted to make Holiday a cornerstone.

"We want to build the team in Jrue's image," Griffin said. "There could have been a lot of guys who were the best player here with whom we would have felt more comfortable or forced to leave, but Jrue is kind of a cultural phenomenon in the way he behaves. "He is not a man too vocal, but he has an incredible gravity among the players."

At 29, Holiday is ready to lead an era of tantalizing pelicans, surrounded by Williamson and the Lakers trio. His work ethic is recognized by management, coaches and players. "It's about milling," says Griffin. This is a trait that should affect newcomers to the team.

Meanwhile, Holiday is at the top of his game; Last year, he recorded a record high of 21.2 points and 7.7 assists per game. In a league that focuses on adaptability, he is an ideal modern player, evolving seamlessly. from goalkeeper to goalkeeper while defending big and small opponents. HHead Coach Alvin Gentry calls Holiday Chameleon.

"We have guard Kevin Durant, then Damian Lillard and, oh, by the way, can you get 20 points and 10 assists for us?" Gentry laughs. "I think from the point of view of what we ask him to do and his accomplishment, I do not think many people are better than Jrue."

For years, he has done all this while maintaining a low profile, an incredible feat at a time when, apparently, every player is distinguished on television and in commentary. Holiday has been for a long time one of the most neglected players in the league, and it is even cliché to mention it. (Sorry.)

"There are so many talented guys in the league, once you've forgotten a bit, you have to wait for your turn to do something that brings them to their attention," he says. This season offers a chance to reorient his career at the height, to reach a new type of celebrity.

"I think it's really embracing the idea of ​​getting bigger, getting bigger," Griffin says. "We talked about the fact that he was the most underrated guard of the league and that he could stay as long as he wanted or that he could get into the conversation with the MVP He almost jumped in his shoes, he was so excited. "

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In August, a A surprising video appeared online.

It sounded like a typical summer scrum band, one that obstructs your Instagram feed in the low season, but there was a very curious detail on the screen: Davis and Holiday were playing together to play at the Mamba Academy near Los Angeles. It seemed strange that they were ready to team up just a month after Davis' exit from New Orleans. We could assume that Holiday would like some time away, even bitterness. Not so.

"He did what he thought was best for pursuing his career and winning, which is the ultimate goal," said Holiday at Davis. "Do I want him to be with me?" "Yeah, but I can not be angry."

However, during the rehearsal games, "I give him a difficult life, like," Oh, you left us, "he said with a smile. Recently, when his coach assigned Holiday and Davis to the same scrum team, Holiday teased Davis: "Well, no, he left me, we are no longer in the same team!"

Holiday lives just up the road from the gymnasium in Thousand Oaks, California, where he lazes by the pool in summer. He spent the morning doing preventive detoxification, a routine he adopted in hopes of avoiding another in a series of injuries that affected his stay in New Orleans. During the first two seasons of Holiday with the Pelicans, he missed more than half of his team's matches while he was being treated for a shin injury. Last March, he underwent abdominal surgery and missed the last 15 games.

He feels completely healthy now, and he is completely relaxed too; he is barefoot, wears a Simpsons t-shirt and bounces on his shoulder with a baseball bat. The entire pool is littered with similar toys, as well as slides and plastic cars, thanks to Holiday's daughter, Jrue Tyler.

Three years ago, J.T. was born in scary conditions – Holiday's wife, Lauren Cheney, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016 while she was pregnant. Holiday kept Pelicans away to take care of this fall. In September of the same year, Cheney gave birth to a healthy baby (and was successfully operated on in October).

Today, Holiday's nails are covered with a pink polish, as does her daughter.

"She always wants to do my nails and my makeup," he says. "When I spend time with her, I just do what she wants, that's how a father works, is not it?" On Instagram, you can sometimes catch him in daddy mode, asleep on the couch, flashing blue on his fingernails. Indeed, it is very far from a season of the most stressful.

Last year's pelicans were stuck in strange limbo. Davis released its exchange request in late January, but the front-office team, then led by Dell Demps, refused to process it mid-season. After the Feb. 7 trading deadline, he was allowed to play only about 20 minutes a night to reduce his risk of injury (and possibly increase the chance of a lottery in New Orleans ). It was at best a delicate solution. "It was new," said Holiday shyly.

Many expected New Orleans to close, completely close Davis and perhaps even close Holiday. That did not interest him. Gentry remembers Holiday: "The only thing I will never be involved in is tanking." I said: "It's fine, because I will never participate in tanking either." "

The Pelicans did their best at the end of the year, even after a series of three consecutive victories.

Through all this, Holiday was dotted with questions about business rumors and club management. He found it ironic that people would want to know if Davis' request was a distraction. In his mind, the only distraction was constantly asked about it.

"For us, it was always Anthony, our brother, our teammate.For us, he was still coming out and playing every game," said Holiday. "I think it was a little annoying because of the scale of the deal that people have made."

Holiday chooses the high road, even calling Davis the "ultimate professional" while his commercial demand hovered. His calm in the midst of such chaos impressed Gentry.

"Thanks to the AD situation, I think he's become a much better leader," said Gentry. "He's still not one to talk verbally, but I think he saw an opportunity and felt really compelled to become a leader for the young guys in the team." and he has a great job with that. "

After Davis's departure, Holiday is now the oldest player on the team and will have a significant leadership role. It's a role for which he feels well suited. "I've always been pretty eloquent towards my teammates.I'm really positive and optimistic.Application positive: I have the impression of throwing that energy into the air, that's huge, "he says. "But I've been quiet to everything out, to the public."

Indeed, Holiday has never been a straightforward talk. He rarely moves the pot with controversial comments or engages a lot on social media. Even meeting for this interview goes beyond the framework of what he might have accepted in the past.

While he relaxes in his garden, he looks at the tape recorder that is sitting a few feet away from him, his blinking red light. "This whole thing here, it's not me," he says. "It's pretty new." Being able to speak, I guess, on behalf of everyone, you know, is a little different. "

Meanwhile, Holiday received different treatment from the team.

This summer, as Griffin revised his list, he made sure to keep in touch with his franchise player. "Having your voice heard makes you feel more involved and a little more important," said Holiday. He weighed not only on the staff but also on the small things of an organization: the quality of the team 's weight room, the availability of a team masseuse.

"He is fortunate to establish the identity of this franchise and he is excited about it," Griffin said. "To a certain extent, Jrue needed a team of his to see what he was capable of, and I think he did not feel comfortable to try to." 39; be l & # 39; man here because he was trying to make things easier and easier for AD. With AD asking to be exchanged and exchanged, this allows Jrue to test his limits and see where he can go. "

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All that seems familiar to Griffin.

More than ten years ago, he was working in the Phoenix Suns Home Office when the team pulled Steve Nash out of the Mavericks. Nash was a respected playmaker in Dallas, but he was Dirk Nowitzki's chaperone. It was a team designed for someone else. The Suns provided Nash with his own team and a dynamo was born.

"No one expected Steve Nash to be the most valuable player, and he was twice the most valuable player because he was exactly where he was at the right time," Griffin said. Nash was 30 when he signed with the Suns; Holiday recently turned 29 years old. "The shape around him was perfect for taking advantage of everything he did."

In New Orleans, the team around Holiday is perfect. Ball brings a little spice to a backyard that has relied on Rajon Rondo, Elfrid Payton and Jameer Nelson in recent years. His free kick style should surprise the Pelicans' offense, and in particular Holiday, who is eager to play on the outside. ("Who does not like to score?" He says.)

The front yard is even more appealing because that is where Williamson will live, playing a new and unspecified position. He will manage the rock, the sprint, the jumps and the hawk. On the wing, Ingram can also take care of it, and JJ Redick, who has signed a two-year contract, is a spacing aide. "We have to be the best-conditioned team because we're going to be the team that leads the league to a higher gear," said Gentry.

There is a defensive potential here too.

Last year, Holiday's ranked well against pick-and-roll and in singles, according to Synergy Sports. Ball was above average in both fields and should only improve from here. "You talk about a very good defensive back end," says Gentry. Griffin compared Williamson to "Draymond Green with rockets in [his] ass. "It looks promising.

"We have a lot of guys who fit the defense," says Griffin. That was not the case last season when New Orleans allowed the league's third highest score per game (116.8), eliminating the productive attack (115.4). "We have the ability to defend at the pace at which we can play offensively, and that's unique."

Nevertheless, there is a reality for any team in the West, especially an outsider who relies on a rookie for immediate production. "I'm not sure there's ever been anything like it," says Holiday about the stacked conference. The most convincing, especially for him, are the Lakers, for whom he has taken root in growing up.

"One of my good friends is playing for the Lakers," said Holiday talking about Davis. "I think it's pretty dope." It will be his first time to watch The Brow by far since 2013, when Holiday was with the 76ers. In New Orleans, Holiday will lead her own playoff pursuit for the first time.

"It will certainly be weird," he said, going solo. "But it will be new, the new can be good sometimes, how do you grow, how do you see what you are doing, we will see."