Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin already cooked with the acquisition of sharpshooter Vít Krejčí from the Atlanta Hawks. But Cronin and the Blazers [likely aren't done yet](https://ripcityproject.com/blazers-next-move-unexpected-hawks-trade-painfully-obvious-jerami-grant-jrue-holiday); signs point to Portland making another move by the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
The Blazers are "in the midst of LOTS of NBA trade matters," according to NBA insider Marc Stein. At the very least, they have to find a way to clear two roster spots for Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko, who are expected to have their two-way contracts converted into standard ones after the deadline.
But one franchise-altering move they must be considering is whether or not to move on from Jure Holiday (again).
Blazers should look to sell high on Jrue Holiday
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The Blazers traded for Holiday with the intention of keeping him in Portland this time around. He's dealt with injuries, but has been effective when healthy. That's been particularly crucial for a backcourt that remains without Damian Lillard and Scoot Henderson (and _finally_ got Blake Wesley back).
Holiday has filled the playmaking void well, stepping up into a larger role than the one that saw his numbers decline in Boston. He's averaging a well-rounded 14.3 points, 6.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game on 43/35/76 shooting splits with the Blazers. But those improved numbers also mean improved trade value, giving Portland a lot to think about in the coming days.
It may not seem like it to some, but Portland acquired Holiday as both a short-term and long-term move. He boosted their odds of getting back to the postseason while providing much-needed veteran leadership -- something that was even more essential after the Chauncey Billups situation unfolded just one game into the season.
But something else surprising happened after the Blazers brought Holiday into the mix: Lillard's return to Portland.
Dame provides that same veteran leadership for roughly half the price -- a gap that will only continue to widen as Holiday's contract balloons all the way up to $37.2 million in 2027-28. Lillard's storybook reunion has to make Holiday more expendable, and now is as good a time as ever for Portland to move on from their expensive aging guard.
They [don't want to be stuck with this contract](https://ripcityproject.com/blazers-jrue-holiday-problem-will-only-get-worse-here) going forward, especially if they decide to keep Jerami Grant around. You could make a compelling case to trade Grant instead, but it ultimately comes down to the value of each player and what Portland can get in return. From that standpoint, it wouldn't be surprising if Holiday is the one teams want.
And if that is the case, Portland should give them exactly what they want.