Jrue Holiday Re-Signing Is Pelicans' Top Priority, Alvin Gentry Says

The New Orleans Pelicans will make a concerted effort to keep guard Jrue Holiday past July 1.

Head coach Alvin Gentry appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio Tuesday and said re-signing Holiday was "a No. 1 priority" for the team.

After spending his first four NBA seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers—during which time he earned his lone All-Star berth in 2012-13—Holiday came to the Pelicans during the 2013 offseason. Since his arrival in New Orleans, health has been a pressing concern, as the 26-year-old played only 206 of a possible 328 games during his first four years with the Pelicans.

It is no wonder New Orleans wants the pending unrestricted free agent back. When healthy, he is a formidable point guard who would give the Pelicans a third scoring option alongside big men Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins:

Season	Games	Points	Assists	Steals	Three-Point Percentage
2009-10	73	8.0	3.8	1.1	39.0
2010-11	82	14.0	6.5	1.5	36.5
2011-12	65	13.5	4.5	1.6	38.0
2012-13	78	17.7	8.0	1.6	36.8
2013-14	34	14.3	7.9	1.6	39.0
2014-15	40	14.8	6.9	1.6	37.8
2015-16	65	16.8	6.0	1.4	33.6
2016-17	67	15.4	7.3	1.5	35.6

New Orleans has made the playoffs once in the last six campaigns, but pairing Holiday with those two All-Star big men for an entire season would give them a pathway to the postseason in 2017-18.

First, they have to keep him by shelling out the big bucks in free agency.