Jrue Holiday
The Utah Jazz are in search for a point guard who could serve as a spot-up guy and a defensive cog. Reuters/Derick E Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday is expected to be heavily courted when he enters free agency in July. Though Holiday stands to earn his biggest payday by sticking with the Pelicans, the eighth-year veteran has reportedly drawn early interest from teams such as the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.

Though Holiday isn't eligible for a super max contract, he will be foregoing at least US$30 million (AU$39 million) to leave New Orleans and find a new home in the summer. Alvin Gentry, coach of the Pelicans, is hopeful that his front office will do the needful and re-sign Holiday.

"I’m sure (general manager) Dell (Demps) will spend time with him, but I don’t really have to say that. I mean, good God, he’s very much a part of what we need and what we’ll try to do. That goes without saying. I don’t think that even has to be discussed on my part," Gentry told the New Orleans Advocate.

Jrue Holiday free agency: Knicks, Sixers expected to pursue PG

With the Knicks and soon-to-be free agent Derrick Rose set to go their separate ways, Kristaps Porzingis & co need a proven floor general and Holiday will headline the NBA Free Agency 2017 class of point guards that includes All-Stars Chris Paul, Stephen Curry and Kyle Lowry. The Sixers, on the other hand, is the team that drafted Holiday in 2009 and provided the stage for Holiday's most prudent season since entering the league.

During the 2012-13 season, Holiday averaged a career-high tally of 17.7 points and 8.0 assists besides making the All-Star team. That offseason, the Sixers decided to enter "tank mode" by shipping away Holiday to the Pelicans for Nerlens Noel and a first-round draft pick. Earlier this year, ESPN's Zach Lowe reported that "the Philadelphia 76ers are intrigued with the idea of bringing Holiday back."

This season, Holiday is playing the role of two-guard for the Pelicans, a plan that Gentry believes has worked for the team. "I think that's when he's at his best, It's not a negative, it's more of a positive that, when we have two ball-handlers out there, we can create situations for Jrue where all the responsibility is not on him. I think Jrue is at his best when he's thinking about scoring also.

"With DeMarcus Cousins [on the team], he has a tendency to want to be this 'point guard,' but I want Jrue to always be aggressive offensively because we need those 16, 17 points that he gives us pretty much on a nightly basis," said Gentry, via ESPN. Jrue Holiday is averaging 15.7 points, 7.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in his eighth NBA season.

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