The prospect of two brothers playing together on the same team is floated around the NBA from time to time. While it’s rare for siblings to play for the same NBA team, we have witnessed it before: Pau and Marc Gasol with Memphis, Markieff and Marcus Morris with Phoenix, and Goran and Zoran Dragic with Miami, to name a few.
For New York Knicks guard Justin Holiday, the thought of potentially playing with his brother Jrue, who plays with the Pelicans, would be a dream come true. Jrue is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, which would allow him to sign with the Knicks if both sides have interest.
“If we can play together, that would be a dream come true and we’d be successful doing it,” Justin Holiday told Marc Berman of The New York Post. “We both want to win and both know each other’s game in and out. We both know what we’re going to get from each other when we play together. It just makes sense.
“I’m not saying just because he’s my brother,’’ Holiday added. “But I know when we play together, good things happen because we know each other’s game so well. We do play hard on both ends of the floor. When you have that at both positions, it’s going to help.”
The Knicks are widely expected to move on from starting point guard Derrick Rose once the season ends, meaning a potential run at Jrue Holiday in free agency could very well happen. However, the Pelicans like Holiday, and reportedly hope to re-sign him. He’s viewed as a core piece of the Pels’ new “big three” featuring Holiday, Anthony Davis and the recently acquired DeMarcus Cousins.
What makes matters more interesting, however, is that Justin Holiday will also become a free agent on July 1st. With both Holiday brothers set to hit the open market in just four months, perhaps New Orleans could make a run at Justin with the same idea as New York in pairing the two brothers. For Justin, free agency is still too far away to worry about in the present day.
“The best thing for me now is not to stress too much about [free agency],’’ Holiday said. “But as far as playing with my brother goes, it’s obviously a dream of ours.”
Justin Holiday, in his first season with the Knicks, has averaged a career-high 7.8 points and 2.4 assists in 62 games. Jrue Holiday, currently in his fourth season with New Orleans, has averaged 16.2 points and 7.3 assists across 47 games.
Jrue and Justin Holiday also have a younger brother, Aaron Holiday, who is in his sophomore season playing alongside projected top pick Lonzo Ball at UCLA.
