Jrue Holiday has had a whirlwind offseason. The new Celtics point guard now has something else to ponder — a spot on Team USA’s roster for the Olympics.
USA Basketball is aggressively pursuing Holiday to return to Team USA and play in Paris, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Holiday, 33, is still mulling whether to accept the offer. There are 12 coveted spots on Team USA’s Olympic roster.
USA Basketball is trying to bounce back from this summer’s disappointing showing in the FIBA World Cup, in which it failed to win a medal. Many of the country’s star players skipped the World Cup.
USA Basketball officials considered Holiday the second-most-impactful player, after Kevin Durant, on the 2021 gold medal team. Holiday’s on-ball defense, play-making and leadership are among the factors behind USA Basketball’s recruitment, Wojnarowski adds.
The Olympic team is expected to include LeBron James, Durant, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum, if they accept invitations. Some other star players who publicly volunteered recently won’t be extended invitations, according to Wojnarowski. There’s no timetable on a Holiday decision.
Holiday, of course, has other things on his mind as he tries to adapt to another Eastern Conference contender. He was traded twice in recent weeks, first to Portland from Milwaukee in the Damian Lillard blockbuster and then to the Celtics.
Jrue ———- best 2way guard in NBA.
He plays the point. Like a PG should. I hope he accepts.
Milwaukee goes into the Playoffs as the East favorite. Loses 1st round. Decides upgrading Jrue’s position is best way forward. Jrue gets traded to Portland, and then to Boston, and now he is being treated like a future Hall-of-Famer.
Same 33-year old guy who Jimmy Butler dropped 53 points on in the Playoffs.
Boston is set for cap issues beyond belief. No depth. An aging frontcourt that is depending heavily on Kristaps Porzingis staying healthy for not only this year, but the next three years. While their 2nd best big, Al Horford, is now closer to 40 than 30 years old. Luke Kornet and Wenyen Gabriel, a pair of journeymen, will play he roles with big minutes.
It amazes me how people dump on Holiday, or any of the Bucks defenders, who failed to slow down Butler in that series. He was out of his mind, and nobody stopped him until he ran out of gas in the finals. But yeah, Jrue is awful because that 1 game/series where Jimmy got buckets.
Agreed. You cannot base a players value on one game or series. Otherwise, Anthony Davis is one of the worst defensive bigs of all time since Jokic averaged a triple double in the WC Finals last season.
BTW most players will tell you they don’t like having Jrue guarding them due to his high basketball IQ, physicality, and defensive instincts.
The Greek freak didn’t play a couple of the games. Dame has pressure because holiday won one there
It’s shocking that Boston fans think old, washed, slow Al Horford is going to still be able to guard Embiid and Giannis LMAO
Bucks will have a hard time with the Heat before the Celtics, like last year.
LeBron needs as much help as possible. Can never look bad or weak. Needs to play it safe
USA basketball is a bit like English cricket…
Doesn’t matter where you are born if ya have talent for a sport…
Same goes for living