Clippers Trade Rumors: Pacers' Aaron Holiday Interests LA Ahead of Deadline
March 23, 2021
The Los Angeles Clippers appear to have interest in Indiana Pacers point guard Aaron Holiday, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who noted the Pacers would consider moving the 24-year-old if a first-round pick is involved in the deal.
Holiday is averaging 6.9 points, 1.7 assists and 1.2 rebounds through 41 games (six starts) as Indiana continues to tinker with a backcourt that features Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. McConnell, Caris LeVert, Jeremy Lamb and Jalen Lecque.
Ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline, Scotto noted the Clippers would turn their attention to Holiday if they are unable to land George Hill or Ricky Rubio first.
Holiday's usage in Indiana has seen a notable dip since head coach Nate Bjorkgren took over for Nate McMillan after the 2019-20 season.
The No. 23 pick in the 2018 draft, Holiday went from playing 12.9 minutes per game during his rookie season to starting 33 games during his second year in the league as his minutes nearly doubled to 24.5 per night. Yet under Bjorkgren, the guard has seen both his field-goal percentage (37.0 percent) and rebounding (1.2 per game) reach career lows as he plays 18.0 minutes per contest.
It might be best for both sides to find a way out of their current situation.
In Los Angeles, Holiday would still come off the bench, but under much different circumstances, likely acting more as a depth piece and facilitator for the Western Conference contenders than as a legitimate scoring threat.
Whether that's worth giving up a first-round pick remains to be seen for the Clippers, but they'll seemingly check on other options first before deciding how to engage with Indiana.