, the Indiana Pacers had trade interest in star guard Jrue Holiday last offseason after he was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers.
However, according to Windhorst, Holiday made a list of destinations where he would be happy going for the next stage of his career. Indiana, despite their interest in the veteran guard, was not on the list. "When the call was over, there was a list of five or six teams. Portland was made aware, and the bidding commenced. Several teams armed with draft pick assets that would've been attractive to the Blazers called only to be told they weren't on the list. This included the Pacers and the New York Knicks, teams that later made big in-season trades and had long playoff runs. But the Blazers stuck to Holiday's list,", and he was happy with the outcome of the deal.
Holiday is in the NBA Finals, the Trail Blazers got a solid return for Holiday , the Milwaukee Bucks landed Lillard, and the Pacers held their assets for the right player at the right time. In the end, everyone made out well from Milwaukee's initial decision to trade Holiday to Portland and the subsequent fallout.
The Pacers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals faster than they thought. What does that mean in the offseason?Tony East is the Publisher of AllPacers. He has previously written for Forbes Sports, the West Indianapolis Community News, WTHR, and more while hosting the Locked On Pacers podcast.