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Bucks

The Celtics are interested in trading for Jrue Holiday, reports <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@KevinOConnorNBA.</a>
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://nbadraft.theringer.com/#mock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer </a>
ANALYSIS: The Celtics could be looking to move on from Kemba Walker this offseason after a less than impressive performance in the playoffs. Boston has three first round picks in the 2020 Draft, and they are reportedly trying to trade into the lottery so they can re-route that pick to the Pelicans in exchange for Jrue Holiday, according to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Boston Celtics reportedly have interest in pursuing Pelicans' Jrue Holiday.

Boston to pursue Jrue Holiday?

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday. According to sources, around 10 teams are inquiring about his services and one team hot after him is the Denver Nuggets, eager to capitalize on their appearance in the West Finals.
Holiday, an All-Defense performer capable of playing both guard spots, averaged 19.1 points and 6.7 assists for the Pelicans this past season and seemingly could fit in with the Nuggets&rsquo; youth and recent experience. He&rsquo;s under contract for next season with a player option for 2021-22 at $27 million, and many teams believe the Pelicans will be looking to shed some salary going into next season.
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://sports.yahoo.com/with-the-nba-focusing-on-a-202021-start-date-where-will-the-toronto-raptors-call-home-193735746.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLzEwWHduRjBrbzA_YW1wPTE&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJwRNESUDp7wY47m29WANrPuxxBuYlZPQyICUe5x1fAr9tFjk-CP1OvIV5b9wOGJ7W0uc-c2m0yLcjO_ZrtbSy5G-OiVYt2PaUJtkPPvOiCU5lCyoD80gtt4hCiMN_PO4lSURc1bF95RF8S0L1Aqd5acVyIHz_QjlhzcPN5Blwgc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports</a>
ANALYSIS: After losing in the Western Conference Finals, Denver feels like they are just a couple of pieces away from making the next leap and contending for a title. The Nuggets could look to bolster their backcourt this offseason and Jrue Holiday is someone Denver has shown interest in before.
Holiday would be a great addition for Denver, as he is a great ball handler and would alleviate some of the pressure off Jamal Murray down the stretch. Gary Harris and Will Barton are two candidates to be packaged with picks in a potential trade for Holiday.
The Nuggets are just one of many teams interested in the 11-year veteran, Jrue Holiday, who is coming off averages of 19.1 points and 6.7 assists per game.&nbsp;

Jrue Holiday reportedly has interest from several teams this off-season and may be on the move soon.

Nuggets interested in Jrue Holiday?

There was chatter at the deadline around Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, and I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised at all if those discussions get revisited. Holiday has one year left on his contract before he can become a free agent, so the Nuggets would need to assess whether they think he could be a long-term play or if they&rsquo;re comfortable going for it next season. I think Gary Harris and/or Will Barton could absolutely be used in a trade to land a player like that, along with at least one or two first-round picks. The Nuggets have No. 22 (via Houston) this upcoming draft.
Source: <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/10/03/nuggets-offseason-trades-gary-harris-will-barton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Singer of The Denver Post</a>
ANALYSIS: After losing in the Western Conference Finals, Denver feels like they are just a couple of pieces away from making the next leap and contending for a title. The Nuggets could look to bolster their backcourt this offseason and Jrue Holiday is someone Denver has shown interest in before. 
Holiday would be a great addition for Denver, as he is a great ballhandler and would alleviate some of the pressure off of Jamal Murray down the stretch. Gary Harris and Will Barton are two candidates to be packaged with picks in a potential trade for Holiday.&nbsp;

The Nuggets may look to upgrade their back court this off-season as they could explore a trade for Jrue Holiday.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Milwaukee Bucks have acquired Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and draft compensation.
Milwaukee is sending three first-round picks to New Orleans in deal to acquire star Jrue Holiday, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA.
Besides the three future first-round picks going to New Orleans, there are also pick swaps included in the deal, per sources. All in all, this is shaping up to be a draft compensation package similar to New Orleans' deal for Anthony Davis with Lakers.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1328556260506161152?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1328559229926596608?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS: With one colossal move, the Bucks have shown just how committed they are to winning a championship and making the necessary roster tweaks around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Holiday is extremely respected around the NBA for his versatility and ability to defend, as well as his playmaking skills and improved shooting. The trio of Giannis, Holiday and Khris Middleton should only make it more difficult on teams to score. It's also significant that Milwaukee agreed to such compensation considering Holiday only has this coming year on his contract with a $27 million player option in 2021-22.
Holiday averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game with the Pelicans. He also shot 35.3 percent from beyond the arc on over five attempts a night and averaged 1.6 steals per contest.

The Bucks have added the versatile guard to join forces with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.

Bucks acquire Jrue Holiday from Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans have made guard Jrue Holiday available in trade discussions.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1324007585868107777" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania via Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Several contending teams are reportedly interested in the combo guard, who has been with New Orleans since the 2013-14 season. Most recently, Holiday averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists, 4.8 rebunds and 1.6 steals per game with the Pelicans.

The longtime Pelicans guard could be on the move this offseason.

Pelicans' Jrue Holiday available in trades

The Atlanta Hawks have reportedly emerged as a leading candidate to trade for Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, and could use the no. 6 pick in the NBA Draft to help acquire him.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1326559920939036672" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marc Stein/Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Hawks have been reported by multiple outlets as a team pushing for playoff contention. Holiday, who averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds with New Orleans last season, would offer dynamic two-way help for an Atlanta team that struggles defensively. Holiday holds a player option for the 2021-22 NBA season. Other teams, including the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves, have also reportedly been discussing trades for the sixth overall pick.

The Hawks and Pelicans have been involved in multi-team trade discussions.

Hawks could trade sixth pick for Jrue Holiday?

NBA players have selected New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday as the recipient of the 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.&nbsp;
The award, presented annually since the 2012-13 season, recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.
More than 250 NBA players submitted their votes for the 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award through confidential balloting conducted by the league office.&nbsp; NBA players determined the winner from among the 12 nominees who were selected by a panel of league executives.
Holiday received 53 of 267 first-place votes and finished with 1,041 total points.&nbsp; Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris (806 points; 48 first-place votes) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Korver (796 points; 26 first-place votes) finished in second and third place, respectively.&nbsp; Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote.
In addition to Holiday, Harris and Korver, the other finalists were Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea, Denver Nuggets forward Torrey Craig, Los Angeles Lakers forward Jared Dudley, Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, Toronto Raptors forward-center Serge Ibaka, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills and Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner.
Holiday, 30, has spent the last seven seasons with New Orleans after playing his first four seasons with Philadelphia.&nbsp; The 6-3 guard was selected as an NBA All-Star in the 2012-13 season and named to the NBA All-Defensive Team in 2017-18 and 2018-19.&nbsp; In the 2019-20 season, he averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.62 steals in 61 games across regular-season games and seeding games.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In July, Holiday announced that he would use the remainder of his 2019-20 season salary to start a social justice fund with his wife, Lauren, a former player for the U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Soccer Team.&nbsp; The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund is designed to address socioeconomic inequalities across communities in New Orleans, the Los Angeles area and Indianapolis.&nbsp; Jrue and Lauren are Los Angeles and Indianapolis natives, respectively, and Jrue&rsquo;s two brothers, Aaron and Justin, both play for the Pacers.
The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award is named for Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, whose storied friendship transcended their Hall of Fame accomplishments.&nbsp; Twyman and Stokes were teammates on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955-58.&nbsp; In the last game of the 1957-58 regular season, Stokes sustained an injury that led to his falling into a coma days later and becoming permanently paralyzed.&nbsp; He was diagnosed with post-traumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury that damaged his motor-control center.&nbsp; Stokes was supported for the rest of his life by Twyman, who became his legal guardian and advocate.
Twyman helped organize the NBA&rsquo;s Maurice Stokes Memorial Basketball Game, which raised funds for Stokes&rsquo; medical care and, after Stokes&rsquo; death in 1970 at age 36, for other players in need.&nbsp; In 2004, after years of lobbying by Twyman, Stokes was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.&nbsp; Twyman, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983, died in 2012.
Below are voting totals for the 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award and the list of all-time winners:
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NBA players selected Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday as the recipient of the 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.

Jrue Holiday wins Teammate of the Year Award

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has won the Joe Dumars Trophy as the NBA player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.
Each NBA team nominated a player for the award. After a panel of league executives chose one finalist from each of the NBA&rsquo;s six divisions, 343 current players confidentially cast votes to select the winner.
&ldquo;Just knowing that it came from the players, the guys who go through this with me and put their bodies on the line, train in the offseason, it means a lot,&rdquo; Holiday said Friday.
Other finalists were Miami&rsquo;s Bam Adebayo, Sacramento&rsquo;s Harrison Barnes, Minnesota&rsquo;s Josh Okogie, Boston&rsquo;s Kemba Walker and San Antonio&rsquo;s Derrick White.
Holiday received 130 first-place votes and 2,752 total points in the balloting. Walker, who won this award in 2017 and 2018, was second with 2,474 points.
Last season, Holiday won the NBA&rsquo;s Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-pelicans-miami-heat-milwaukee-bucks-milwaukee-soccer-c02176165d5f18fc00cddcc7d0f26b0e">The 30-year-old Holiday averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 59 games this season</a> during his first year with Milwaukee. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/basketball-brooklyn-nets-milwaukee-bucks-nba-finals-nba-5102becb2fac74b531954590d1a0126e">Holiday&rsquo;s Bucks begin a second-round playoff series with the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at Brooklyn.</a>
Holiday donated part of his 2019-20 salary to form the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund with his wife, who won two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup as a midfielder with the U.S. women&rsquo;s national soccer team.
His family&rsquo;s foundation recently opened a second round of funding to provide up to $1 million in grant money to fund Black-owned businesses and Black-led organizations in the Milwaukee, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Los Angeles areas.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Jrue Holiday has won the Joe Dumars Trophy as the NBA player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.

Bucks' Jrue Holiday wins Joe Dumars Trophy for sportsmanship

Giannis Antetokounmpo holds the NBA world in his abnormally large hands.
Fresh off his second-straight MVP and first Defensive Player of the Year award, Giannis is entering his most important offseason to date. He&rsquo;s eligible for a super-max extension, easily the most lucrative deal of his young career and one that would (theoretically) tie him to the Milwaukee Bucks for the next five years.
He&rsquo;s been relatively consistent about his desire to stay in Milwaukee, provided the Bucks make moves to prove their seriousness in building a championship-caliber unit. The Bucks did just that in the wee hours of Monday night, trading for All-Star guard Jrue Holiday, then landing wing Bogdan Bogdanovic (and Justin James!) in a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings.
Gone are Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilysaova, DJ Wilson and enough picks to make a grooming kit for peak Ben Wallace. In come two talented perimeter players with distinct skill-sets that the Bucks hope will help them 1) get over the hump in the Eastern Conference and 2) entice Giannis to re-sign long term.
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WHAT HOLIDAY BRINGS TO THE TABLE
Bledsoe is one of the best guard defenders in basketball. He was an important, if not underrated part of Milwaukee&rsquo;s elite defensive profile over the past couple of seasons. His ability to fight over screens and contest from behind made Milwaukee&rsquo;s drop defense much tougher to score against.
Holiday is that same kind of screen evader, but in a slightly bigger package. He&rsquo;s a dog defensively, able to bust through picks and attach himself to the ball-handler in a pinch. At his best, he&rsquo;s able to overwhelm enemy dribblers with a rare mix of physicality and hand speed.
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That&rsquo;s Holiday flustering Luka Doncic, one of the best playmakers in the sport. It&rsquo;s also worth noting that Luka is a big wing creator, which gives you a brief look at the positional versatility that Holiday has. He can hold his own against Luka-sized wings, but also has the quickness necessary to pick on guys his own size. Like, say, Donovan Mitchell:
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Holiday is quick enough to defend small guards, long enough to bother wings, and strong enough to bang with bigs in a pinch off switches. There are maybe four players on the planet -- Giannis, Marcus Smart, Ben Simmons, Bam Adebayo -- that offer the type of versatility that Holiday does. He gives Milwaukee the ability to stick to their drop scheme, ramp up the pressure with blitzes or switch everything and allow Holiday to fend for himself.
Offensively, Holiday represents a more pronounced upgrade from Bledsoe. He doesn&rsquo;t offer the same high-end speed that Bledsoe does as a driver, but compensates by doing a better job of shifting gears in the half court. He feels out the defense better, and possesses the passing chops to toss darts to the corner, fit in pocket passes or connect on lobs when the situation calls for it.
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If he needs to score, Holiday is able to bump-and-grind his way into the paint for buckets. Per Synergy, Holiday has ranked in the 60th percentile or better as a half-court finisher in four of the past five seasons. He&rsquo;s able to generate inside leverage with his broad shoulders pretty consistently. From there, he&rsquo;s able to use his strength to wield off his defender to generate good looks at the rim, or spin away to create a new window:
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More importantly, Holiday is a flat-out better shooter than Bledsoe. He&rsquo;s converted roughly 37 percent of his catch-and-shoot triples over the past five seasons, according to Second Spectrum tracking data. Bledsoe has knocked down 33.5 percent of those looks in the same time span.&nbsp;
You won&rsquo;t confuse Holiday for a Splash Brother, but teams can&rsquo;t blatantly ignore him off the ball in the way that they can with Bledsoe. Even a soft close-out would be enough for Holiday to attack, and, again, he has the passing chops to beat a scrambling defense.
WHAT BOGDANOVIC BRINGS TO THE TABLE
It would be easy to point to Bogdanovic&rsquo;s three-point percentage -- he&rsquo;s a career 37.4 percent marksman -- and dub him as a much needed spacer for the Bucks. He is a reliable spacer, able to cash home the catch-and-shoot opportunities that are created for him. Heck, he just posted a career-high in three-point rate (57.6), and over 85 percent of his triples last year were assisted.
But it&rsquo;s important not to confuse him for a stationary threat. He&rsquo;s coming off a career-high 15.1-points-per-game campaign in Sacramento, with most of those buckets coming off some sort of movement. Nearly a quarter of his possessions came out of pick-and-roll, via Synergy, where he consistently shredded drop defenses whenever he was able to turn the corner.
Give him too much space, and he can burn you in the intermediate area:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/boggif1.gif" alt="" width="538" height="AUTO" />
Play too far up and he&rsquo;ll get to the rim, using his body to shield off his defender:
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Bogdanovic isn&rsquo;t an explosive finisher, but he&rsquo;s an effective one. He converted over 56 percent of his shots at the rim in the half court, per Synergy.&nbsp;
The real fun part of the Bogdanovic Experience is his passing chops. He marches to the beat of his own drum on drives, routinely putting defenders on his hip while surveying the action. He probes until a big nudges up or the help defender cheats off his man or falls asleep altogether. The magic happens from there.
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That&rsquo;s mostly tremendous defense from LeBron freakin&rsquo; James on this early transition ball-screen action. He fights over the Harry Giles screen and stays attached to Bogdanovic. But after Bogdanovic turns the corner, he&rsquo;s able to use his third dribble and first step in his gather to gain inside leverage on LeBron. From there, he somehow leaves a touch pass for Giles to grab, avoiding the outstretched arm of JaVale McGee in the process. It&rsquo;s tough to teach that kind of placement, but Bogdanovic has it.
Half-court creation, or a lack of it, has plagued the Bucks in each of the past two postseasons. Giannis has his own warts to work through -- get a reliable middy, young man! -- but the roster has lacked the juice around him to get over the hump. Replacing a sometimes-erratic Bledsoe with Holiday, and adding some off-the-bounce flair with Bogdanovic should help alleviate those issues.
The Bucks still have work to do. They&rsquo;ve sent out a ton of picks and a solid chunk of their rotation from last season. With Bogdanovic being acquired via sign-and-trade, the Bucks are now hard capped, and will need to grab value from the bargain bin. Still, they&rsquo;ve made strides to address their biggest issue and may have wooed Giannis in the process. Within that context, it&rsquo;s hard not to see their Monday night tradefest as a win.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Bucks' acquisitions of Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic and how they fit with Milwaukee's roster.

How Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic help the Bucks

If the U.S. men's national team does in fact bring home the gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, one of the main reasons will be Jrue Holiday, who has proven once again to be the final piece to a championship puzzle.&nbsp;
After having the NBA&rsquo;s best record for two consecutive seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks fell well short of a championship in both years, failing to reach the Finals at all. But they were missing something. In order to get over the hump, they were one player away.
Jrue Holiday was that player.
Similarly, things were looking pretty bleak for Team USA out of the gate. They opened in Vegas with back-to-back exhibition losses to Nigeria and Australia. And after the Americans lost the group-play opener to France, every writer with a pen began ripping them to shreds. The U.S. team became the butt of jokes all across social media. It was the end of USA Basketball as we know it, according to many overdramatic journalists.&nbsp;
However, in the 83-76 loss to France, one bright spot was Holiday, who had just arrived in Tokyo not even 24 hours prior to the game. When a reporter asked what the team needed to do in order to get back on track, his response was: &ldquo;This is my first day. Literally, my first day.&rdquo;&nbsp;
But even with it being his first day, it was evident that his impact on this team would be greatly felt, even though he'd never been on an Olympic stage prior to this game. Holiday led Team USA with 18 points and 4 assists in 28 minutes in that defeat; many media members and spectators alike missed his incredible play given the circumstances. People were understandably more focused on the fact that the U.S. men's national basketball team had just lost its first Olympic match in almost 17 years, which broke a 24-game winning streak in the Games.
But at the time, Holiday had just won the NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks. He partied and sprayed champagne all night, partied some more at a championship parade, then got on a 15-hour flight to Tokyo. To deliver that performance was amazing in and of itself. After that showing, Holiday was inserted into the starting lineup &mdash; and has continued to shine.
Ever since he joined the U.S. starting five, the team has been flourishing. The Americans just dominated Australia 97-78 and will play for the gold medal on Friday evening at 10:30 p.m. ET.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jrue Holiday puts <a href="https://twitter.com/usabasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usabasketball</a> on top.. they now lead 59-50 vs. Australia in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> Men's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Basketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Basketball</a> Semifinals. (video via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCOlympics</a>)<a href="https://t.co/moZuq9a6UW">pic.twitter.com/moZuq9a6UW</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1423153341987758081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It is interesting how quiet it is when Team USA wins compared to how loud the condemnation rains down from every direction when the Americans lose exhibition games. People were using words like &ldquo;disgrace&rdquo; and claiming, &ldquo;U.S. basketball is now an inferior product." They were taking aim at Kevin Durant (for some reason) and the &ldquo;individualism of U.S. basketball vs. team concepts of international squads," and criticizing U.S. head coach Gregg Popovich as being over the hill. The criticism went all the way down to AAU level, and of course, you had Stephen A. Smith&rsquo;s disrespectful rant after Team USA lost to Nigeria. It&rsquo;s interesting how people aren&rsquo;t as loud with their praise as they are with their criticism, but I digress.
Coach Popovich described the impact of Holiday in a unique way.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s, in a way, kind of like the meanest man in the valley, but you&rsquo;d never know it because of his quiet demeanor, his kindness," Popovich said. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s an all-around wonderful human being. And his entry to the team, late as it was, has had an immediate effect, because he garners so much respect from his teammates.&rdquo;
To add to Pop's praise, Holiday simply gives the U.S. team something it didn&rsquo;t have before: a pure point guard.
Damian Lilard was playing the point, and is one of the most lethal scorers in the NBA, but he&rsquo;s not a pure point guard. He has the ability to create shots for himself without a set, drawn-up play &mdash; and that&rsquo;s invaluable &mdash; but he&rsquo;s not a pure point guard whose duties are primarily comprised of setting everyone up and running the team. Inserting Holiday at the point allowed Lillard to concentrate on what he does best, which is putting the ball in the hole.
Numbers don&rsquo;t lie, and here's a prime example: Lillard struggled in the opening loss to France, going just 3-for-10 from the field. But after Holiday began running the point, Dame flourished with 21 points and poured in seven three-pointers against Iran. That&rsquo;s not a coincidence.&nbsp;
But more importantly, Holiday&rsquo;s best skill is his defense.
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Whenever I watch Jrue Holiday make somebody disappear, I always go back a couple of years ago to when New Orleans gave him a big contract despite a long injury history. Rep on D was strong. Locked up Kyle Lowry one night &amp; KL told me, "Whatever they're paying him is not enough."
&mdash; Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrMichaelLee/status/1423159620856594432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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As seen in the NBA Finals, Holiday wore Chris Paul down the entire series. He was picking him up full court almost every time. It was reminiscent of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb0gdyGDcU0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">40 Minutes of Hell</a> at Arkansas. Holiday was stuck to Paul like glue, neutralized him and caused CP3's very uncharacteristic turnover barrage. It was old-school basketball and it changed the series.
Even when Holiday struggled with his shooting, he dominated on the defensive end. In Game 3 in particular, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer wisely made the adjustment to abandon all switching, aggressive helping and hedging and recovering; he instead elected to go with Holiday shadowing Paul everywhere he went. Not only did it prove effective, but it was the turning point of the series. Holiday stepped up to the challenge and shined. He didn&rsquo;t let CP3 breath, and he did the same thing with Devin Booker; according to <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/201950/head-to-head/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;sort=MATCHUP_FGA&amp;dir=1&amp;Outcome=W" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA.com&rsquo;s tracking data</a>, Booker only connected on 9-of-25 shots when matched up against Holiday.
Again, numbers don&rsquo;t lie.
Now, the U.S. will have to face Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum of France in a rematch to win the gold.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Having him, he&rsquo;s probably the best perimeter defender we have in the NBA,&rdquo; Zach LaVine said. "And you have him on the [U.S.] team and we&rsquo;ve got a bunch of guys to help him as well, myself included, trying to take on that role, being able to go out there try to help guard guys.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But having Jrue out there, you can&rsquo;t get much better than that on the perimeter.&rdquo;
Give Jrue Holiday his flowers.
Yes, Giannis Antetokounmpo was the MVP of the NBA Finals, but Holiday was invaluable.
And yes, Kevin Durant is the MVP of Team USA... but when they do bring home the gold, it will be largely because of Jrue Holiday.&nbsp;

Etan Thomas praises Jrue Holiday for being the unsung hero in both the NBA Finals and for Team USA in the Olympics.

Jrue Holiday is the final piece to any team's puzzle

Milwaukee guard Jrue Holiday has committed to Team USA for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, reports ESPN's <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1407418241585074176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski.</a>
Additionally, this news comes on the heels of <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1407416991485366272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Paul's</a> decision to not play &ndash; even though the opposite was <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1407416991485366272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier today.&nbsp;
Should the Phoenix Suns' long postseason run continue on into the NBA Finals, there would have been no rest and recovery time for the future Hall of Famer.
With Holiday's first-time addition, the roster stands at 11 players once again, a number that includes teammate Khris Middleton.

Milwaukee guard Jrue Holiday has committed to Team USA for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Jrue Holiday joins Team USA; Chris Paul declines Olympic opportunity

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Jrue Holiday says it was an easy decision to sign a contract extension in his first season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Holiday pretty much knew he wanted to stay in Milwaukee for years to come once he spoke to team officials shortly after they paid a steep price to acquire him. General manager Jon Horst made it apparent how much the Bucks valued the veteran guard.
&ldquo;I feel like you can tell when somebody&rsquo;s like super excited or happy about something, and you could hear it in his voice,&rdquo; Holiday said Monday, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-bucks-khris-middleton-jrue-holiday-giannis-antetokounmpo-6ad067b5c92a9ce87cac5013a81558ce#:~:text=MILWAUKEE%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Milwaukee%20Bucks,option%20for%20the%20final%20season.">one day after agreeing to terms on a four-year extension </a> that would be worth at least $134 million if he exercises his option for the final season. &ldquo;At that point, I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Man, he really wanted me to be here.&rsquo;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really not the type to be wooed and all that. I don&rsquo;t need to be courted or whatever, but it felt good to be appreciated. It felt good to be wanted.&rdquo;
Under the terms of his new deal, Holiday receives base salaries of $30.1 million next season, $32.4 million in 2022-23 and $34.7 million in 2023-24. He also holds a $37 million option for 2024-25.
There are incentives that could push the total value of Holiday&rsquo;s deal to nearly $160 million.
The 30-year-old said his teammates reinforced his desire to stay in Milwaukee.
&ldquo;Not just on the court, but off the court, how my teammates, how they are, just great people,&rdquo; Holiday said. &ldquo;Made me feel like family. You want to be around them. You want to have that type of character around you and your family. They made it an easy decision.&rdquo;
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<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-bucks-new-orleans-pelicans-jrue-holiday-khris-middleton-71610073d85a7dbabd0347d282308dcc">The Bucks acquired Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans </a> in November as part of a four-team trade.
Milwaukee gave up guards Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, first-round draft choice R.J. Hampton and two future first-round draft picks. The Bucks also acquired Sam Merrill and gave New Orleans the right to swap two future first-round picks.
The Bucks believe the 6-foot-3 Holiday has been worth the price.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you can kind of appreciate the strength and physicality he brings to both ends of the court until you get to see it night in and night out,&rdquo; coach Mike Budenholzer said. &ldquo;What he does defensively, takes on different matchups, different-sized guys, you hear about it and everybody talks about it and everything, so you have this expectation, but once you&rsquo;re around it, it&rsquo;s even more impressive.&rdquo;
Holiday is averaging 17 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals this season. He was named the Eastern Conference player of the week Monday after averaging 26.8 points, 8.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals over his last four games, all on the road.
He&rsquo;s been an equally big contributor off the court. Holiday received an NBA Cares community assist award in January for his efforts to support people impacted by the pandemic.
Holiday agreed to his deal less than four months after the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-nba-milwaukee-bucks-milwaukee-giannis-antetokounmpo-4064e58864446b2d55314713caea70b1">Bucks signed two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to a supermax extension</a>.
The franchise&rsquo;s investment in Holiday, Antetokounmpo and two-time All-Star Khris Middleton &mdash; even without incentives &mdash; adds up to $105 million in 2021-22 and $113 million in 2022-23. That figure would reach $120 million in 2023-24 if Middleton exercises an option he has for that season.
Holiday believes that commitment should enable the Bucks to contend for years to come as they chase their first NBA title since 1971. As the Bucks prepared to play at Golden State on Tuesday, Holiday compared Milwaukee&rsquo;s situation to how the Warriors assembled their championship teams.
&ldquo;They built together for so long and they won together for so long that I feel like it kind of came to a point where they were just this well-oiled machine and knew each other and knew how things were going to go,&rdquo; Holiday said. &ldquo;Yeah, I feel like that&rsquo;s what I want to be a part of.&rdquo;
NOTES: Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo practiced Monday after missing Saturday&rsquo;s game with a sore left knee. The 6-foot-11 forward&rsquo;s status for Tuesday&rsquo;s game remains uncertain. &hellip; Reserve forward P.J. Tucker didn&rsquo;t practice Monday. Tucker has missed six straight games with a calf injury.
___
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___
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Jrue Holiday explains why signing a four-year, max extension with the Milwaukee Bucks was a no-brainer.

Jrue Holiday says signing extension with Bucks was 'easy decision'

According to Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has tested positive for COVID-19.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/eric_nehm/status/1359025663215304706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1359025663215304706%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhoopshype.com%2Frumors%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Nehm/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Bucks declined to comment on Holiday's condition, instead saying that he is merely under the league's health and safety protocols at this time. The 30-year-old is currently averaging 16.4 points and 5.4 assists for Milwaukee, who sits second in the Eastern Conference standings.

Khris Middleton implied that Holiday, who is under the league's safety protocols, tested positive.

Bucks' Jrue Holiday may have tested positive for COVID-19

The Milwaukee Bucks announced via Twitter that starting point guard Jrue Holiday would not return to the game due to a right heel contusion. It's unclear when Holiday suffered the injury, but he was ruled out for the rest of the game right before halftime.
Here is the Bucks release from social media:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Injury Update: Jrue Holiday - right heel contusion - will not return tonight
&mdash; Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1450621578115485703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Bucks starting point guard, Jrue Holiday, will not return to the game after suffering a right heel contusion.

Jrue Holiday leaves opening night vs. Nets with right heel contusion

Jrue Holiday is a master of larceny.
Stripping the ball (and a chunk of pride) away from Chris Paul in Game 4, as the perennial All-Star stumbled onto the Fiserv Forum floor.
Wrestling the ball away from Devin Booker in Game 5 like a stickup kid yanking a purse away from an unsuspecting woman.
Throwing a series-defining clutch lob to Giannis Antetokounmpo in the final seconds of Game 5, giving the Milwaukee Bucks a 3-2 lead over the Phoenix Suns.
While Antetokounmpo left his undeniably dominant imprint on the NBA Finals, Holiday played a huge role in delivering Milwaukee their first championship in 50 years by providing sporadic but key contributions on offense and being a disruptor and clear threat on defense.
Here&rsquo;s how Holiday&rsquo;s ski-mask stylings and brute finesse turned the series around for the Bucks.
Adapt and Adjust
Going into the series, the Bucks&rsquo; scheme was for P.J. Tucker to guard Paul in an attempt to switch the Suns&rsquo; pick-and-roll attack with Paul and Deandre Ayton. Brook Lopez would end up guarding Paul, while Tucker defends Ayton. That is, until Paul torched Lopez and anyone else on the perimeter in Game 1, for 32 points and nine assists.
In Game 3, trailing 0-2, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer abandoned the switches and the over-helping and played the Suns straight up, with Holiday leading the charge.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/61pqEPT3MfI?start=183" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
At the 3:03 mark of the video above, Holiday fights over the screen just in time to recover and press into Paul. Paul eventually finds a sliver of space to score on the mid-range jumper, but Holiday continued to contest after fighting those screens.
Look at Holiday in the post at the 4:35 mark. It seems as if Booker had the advantage in size and position on this play, but Holiday doesn&rsquo;t give up and blocks Booker from behind, which leads to a dunk for Bobby Portis in transition.
In Games 2 and 3, Holiday made Paul and Booker work harder for their shots. While it took some time to adjust and defend Paul, Holiday really made his presence felt with his defense on Booker. In 27 minutes in which he was guarded by Holiday, Booker shot 11-for-31 (35.5% from the field) and only scored 24 points.
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94 Feet Of Chaos
In an era when zone defenses and switches are prevalent, it&rsquo;s rare that you see not only fullcourt pressure but pressure from one player. In pockets of the series, Holiday picked up Paul fullcourt while having enough of stamina to fight over screens and provide much-needed situational scoring in big moments.
While Holiday hounded Paul the full length of the court, the Suns&rsquo; formidable pick-and-roll sets that are driven by ball movement turned into iso-heavy muck.
The Suns&rsquo; M.O. is breaking down defenses with blends of pick-and-roll and ball movement. After the defense is broken down, Phoenix&rsquo;s offense typically attacks in the paint and on the perimeter (specifically the corner three). The Suns attempted 9.6 corner threes per game during the regular season. Due to Holiday&rsquo;s defense, the Suns entered Game 6 with just two shots from the corner in this series.
Holiday&rsquo;s defense also helped the Bucks overcome an offense that was scoring just <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/context?season=2020&amp;seasontype=playoffs&amp;start=10/1/2020&amp;end=10/15/2021&amp;opponent=24#tab-offense_halfcourt_putbacks">96.9 points</a> per 100 possessions in halfcourt sets during the NBA Finals. Milwaukee made up for this by creating turnovers and taking advantage of the transition opportunities that Holiday generated.
Holiday has a rep that precedes him as one of the toughest defenders in the league. He isn&rsquo;t new to this at all. When he was on the New Orleans Pelicans three years ago, Holiday hounded Damian Lillard the same way he hounded Paul and the result was a sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Three years later, that same defensive intensity and pressure resulted into much-earned gold.

Jrue Holiday stepped up when the Milwaukee Bucks needed him most, providing lockdown defense and hitting big shots in the Finals.

On Lock: How Jrue Holiday became the NBA Finals’ X-Factor

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The price the Bucks paid to add Jrue Holiday to their roster and the amount they invested to keep him underscores how much Milwaukee believes the guard can help them end a half-century of NBA postseason frustration.
Holiday gets his chance to hold up his end of the deal this weekend when the Bucks begin a first-round series with the Miami Heat, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/toronto-milwaukee-bucks-jae-crowder-khris-middleton-miami-5e27a4ba85d538d27947524e463921a8#:~:text=The%20fifth%2Dseeded%20Heat%20finished,of%20a%20sprained%20right%20ankle.">who eliminated them in the second round last year.</a>
“I think for somebody who just wants an opportunity to win and do the best they can, to come to a team like this and try to make something happen, I’m ready for this,” Holiday said. “I’m excited to get going.”
Milwaukee posted the NBA’s best regular-season record in 2018-19 and 2019-20 but fell short in the playoffs both times. The Bucks responded by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-d33a37948c6526f18d0b9725cdc57e6e">overhauling their roster</a> and putting a new group around <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-milwaukee-bucks-hakeem-olajuwon-michael-jordan-nba-06ca728b06e0cef837c41592b7a41862#:~:text=LAKE%20BUENA%20VISTA%2C%20Fla.,season%2C%20receiving%20that%20award%20Friday.">two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo</a> and two-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton. 
No change was bigger than the addition of Holiday, who is playing for a legitimate title contender for the first time in his NBA career.
“It’s like a brotherhood,” Holiday said. “I want to be able to support my teammates and make them better just like they make me better.”
The Bucks gave up guards Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, first-round draft choice R.J. Hampton and two future first-round picks <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-bucks-new-orleans-pelicans-jrue-holiday-khris-middleton-71610073d85a7dbabd0347d282308dcc">to acquire Holiday </a> and Sam Merrill from the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a four-team trade. The Bucks also gave New Orleans the right to swap two future first-round picks.
Holiday, who turns 31 on June 12, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-bucks-khris-middleton-jrue-holiday-giannis-antetokounmpo-6ad067b5c92a9ce87cac5013a81558ce#:~:text=MILWAUKEE%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Milwaukee%20Bucks,option%20for%20the%20final%20season.">signed a four-year contract extension</a> last month <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-milwaukee-bucks-jrue-holiday-a42289271de9c6b390a8e1ed15b9de49">that would be worth at least $134 million if he exercises his option for the final season. </a>
The Bucks say he’s been even better than expected.
“As the season’s played out, certainly we appreciate what he brings to the game on both ends of the court,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Just the more great two-way players you have, the better your team is going to be.”
Holiday missed 10 games this season due to COVID-19 but averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds while ranking fifth in the NBA in steals (1.63). He shot 50.3% overall and 39.2% from 3-point range - both career highs - and stepped up his play after the All-Star break.
“I knew he was a good and complete player,” Middleton said, “but I didn’t know he was this good.”
Holiday’s presence helped the Bucks average 120.1 points per game and become the first team since the 1984-85 Denver Nuggets to finish a regular season averaging at least 120 points. 
The Bucks believe they upgraded by having Holiday take over at point guard for Bledsoe, who performed well in the regular season but struggled in Milwaukee’s playoff losses.
Holiday is making just his fifth playoff appearance in 12 NBA seasons and never has advanced beyond the second round.
The Bucks expect much more that a second-round exit.
Milwaukee guard Pat Connaughton believes Holiday has a game ideally suited for the playoffs. Connaughton was playing for Portland in 2018 <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ab4a4b8f31864599a6fff457e1ba2977">when his Trail Blazers were swept by Holiday’s Pelicans.</a>
“His ability to control the game offensively, always be in control on offense in attack mode but then defensively to take away another team’s best player, that’s what playoff basketball is,” Connaughton said. 
As he tries to help his new team win its first NBA title since 1971, Holiday already is making an impact in Milwaukee off the floor.
He donated part of his 2019-20 salary to form the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund with his wife, who won two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup as a midfielder with the U.S. women’s national soccer team.
While Holiday prepares for the playoffs this week, his family’s foundation s opening a second round of funding to provide up to $1 million in grant money to fund Black-owned businesses and Black-led organizations in the Milwaukee, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Los Angeles areas.
“My family and I are here to support my community and be able to give back as much as possible,” Holiday said. “It is really exciting. It’s just that I also have to lock into something else right now.”
At the top of that list is helping Milwaukee end its NBA title drought.
___
Follow Steve Megargee at https://twitter.com/stevemegargee
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Bucks gave up Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, first-round pick R.J. Hampton and two future first-round picks to acquire Holiday.

Jrue Holiday eager to help Milwaukee take next step in playoffs

After missing 10 consecutive games in the league's health and safety protocol, Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is likely to return to the lineup against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1365833644007432192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Milwaukee will be happy to welcome back their starting point guard Sunday afternoon, as the Bucks have struggled mightily since he went out due to the league's COVID protocols. The Bucks went 5-5 in the 10 games that Holiday missed, with the team suffering a season-high 5 game losing streak during that time as well.  
Holiday is averaging 16.4 points, 5.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds per game and shooting 50% from the floor in his first season with the Bucks. The Bucks and Clippers kick-off NBA Sunday hoops with a 3:30 PM ET tip-off, and it remains unclear if Holiday will face a minutes restriction or not in his first game back.

Bucks Jrue Holiday is set to make his return to the court Sunday vs. the Clippers after a being held out for 10 games due to the league's health and safety protocols.

Jrue Holiday to return from 10-game absence Sunday vs. Clippers

The Milwaukee Bucks and Jrue Holiday have reportedly agreed to terms on a maximum four-year, $160 million contract extension.
Source: <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/bucks-jrue-holiday-agree-to-160-million-max-contract-extension/y4DDn67nmN3B" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Bucks made a splash in the 2020 offseason by trading for Holiday, and now the franchise is committing to him long-term. The 30-year-old guard is averaging 17.0 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game with his new team. Milwaukee is 7.1 points per 100 possessions better when Holiday is on the court, and his sound decision-making and shooting efficiency (39 percent from distance) have proved beneficial.
The trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Holiday are outscoring opponents by 10.2 points per 100 possessions when they share the court.
AP Story
Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday followed up his biggest game of the season by making a long-term commitment to his new team.
Holiday agreed to a four-year contract extension that would be worth at least $134 million if he exercises his option for the final season. The Bucks announced the agreement Sunday.
&ldquo;I'm a Buck for life,&rdquo; Holiday said in a video posted on the Bucks' Twitter account. &ldquo;Just know that I'm glad to be a part of Bucks Nation. Let's do some big things, man. I'm really excited.&rdquo;
The announcement came one day after Holiday had a season-high 33 points as well as 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 129-128 victory at Sacramento. Holiday's performance enabled the Bucks to withstand the absence of reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out with a sore left knee.
The move represents the latest step in the Bucks&rsquo; heavy investment in their trio of Holiday, Antetokounmpo and two-time All-Star Khris Middleton as the franchise chases its first NBA title since 1971.
The Bucks posted the NBA's best regular-season record each of the last two seasons but lost in the Eastern Conference finals in 2019 and in the second round of the playoffs last year. Entering Sunday, Milwaukee owned a 32-17 record and was two games behind Philadelphia and Brooklyn in the East standings.
"Jrue is one of the top guards in the NBA and we are thrilled to sign him to this extension,&rdquo; Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. &ldquo;Adding him to our team has made us better on both ends of the floor. He&rsquo;s an elite defender and an impactful offensive player with the ability to score, shoot and facilitate.&rdquo;
Holiday had a $26.7 million player option remaining for the 2021-21 season as part of the five-year, $126 million contract he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans in July 2017.
Under the terms of this deal, Holiday declines that option but receives base salaries of $30.1 million next season, $32.4 million in 2022-23 and $34.7 million in 2023-24. He also holds a $37 million option for 2024-25.
There are incentives that could push the total value of Holiday's deal to nearly $160 million.
The Bucks&rsquo; investment in Holiday, Antetokounmpo and Middleton &mdash; even without incentives &mdash; totals $105 million in 2021-22, $113 million in 2022-23 and would be $120 million in 2023-24 if Middleton exercises a player option he has for that season.
The 30-year-old Holiday is averaging 17 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals this year in his first season with the Bucks. He ranks second in the league in steals per game.
He missed 10 games earlier this season after testing positive for COVID-19 but has come on strong lately.
Holiday has scored at least 22 points in four straight games. Since the All-Star break, he has averaged 20.8 points and has shot 54.1% overall and 44.3% from 3-point range.
The only other NBA players averaging at least 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and 1.5 steals this season are Miami&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler, Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Joki? and Toronto&rsquo;s Fred VanVleet.
Milwaukee paid a heavy price to acquire Holiday in the offseason as it attempted to strengthen the team in hopes of getting a long-term commitment from Antetokounmpo, who signed a five-year supermax extension worth a reported $228 million in December.
The Bucks gave up guards Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, first-round draft choice R.J. Hampton and two future first-round draft picks as part of the four-team trade. They also acquired second-round pick Sam Merrill and gave New Orleans the right to swap two future first-round picks as part of the deal.
&ldquo;Them giving up all the pieces that they did, it really, really made me feel like they wanted me to be here,&rdquo; Holiday said shortly after the trade. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s always a good feeling.&rdquo;
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Holiday joined the team after being traded from the Pelicans in the 2020 offseason.

Jrue Holiday inks four-year max extension: ‘I’m a Buck for life’

Milwaukee Bucks star Jrue Holiday rarely discusses awards. But now to Yahoo Sports, he shares his perspective, his challenge to media and why a certain award should be evaluated differently: &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m the Defensive Player of the Year every year.&rdquo;
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1392543293037158402" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Jrue Holiday is known as one of the better on-ball defenders in the league but he clearly doesn't feel like he gets the respect he deserves for his defensive efforts, having only made two All-Defensive NBA Teams in his career. 
Holiday continued his conversation with Yahoo Sports after claiming he should be Defensive Player of the Year every year and had the following to say:
"I'm not joking about that. And I know this is my opinion, and other people have different opinions and they'll probably think I'm crazy. But I think what I bring defensively on the court, a lot of people don't really do, to be completely honest.&nbsp;
I feel like I should be in the conversation every year. I&rsquo;m being serious. This isn't the first year I've been playing defense this way.&rdquo;

Jrue Holiday tells Chris Haynes that he feels like he should be the Defensive Player of the Year every year.

Jrue Holiday: 'I feel like I’m the Defensive Player of the Year every year'

Milwaukee is landing Sacramento's Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade deal, sources tell ESPN. The Bucks will send over Donte Divincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and DJ Wilson in the deal for Bogdanovic, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. 
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1328580779966914561" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: After <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1328569200479178756" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans,</a> the Bucks continued to be aggressive in making improvements to their roster. Bogdanovic is one of the premier shooters in the NBA and will be a great addition for the Bucks as they try to convince Giannis to stay. Bogdan put up 15 points per game on 44% shooting from the field during his 2019-20 campaign with Sacramento.

After dealing for Jrue Holiday, the Bucks have landed Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade deal.

Jrue

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Jrue Holiday joins Team USA; Chris Paul declines Olympic opportunity

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Bucks' Jrue Holiday may have tested positive for COVID-19

Jrue Holiday leaves opening night vs. Nets with right heel contusion

On Lock: How Jrue Holiday became the NBA Finals’ X-Factor

Jrue Holiday eager to help Milwaukee take next step in playoffs

Jrue Holiday to return from 10-game absence Sunday vs. Clippers

Jrue Holiday inks four-year max extension: ‘I’m a Buck for life’

Jrue Holiday: 'I feel like I’m the Defensive Player of the Year every year'

Bucks acquire Bogdanovic in sign-and-trade with Kings