The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to trade Jrue Holiday in the coming days or weeks, but the five-time All-Defensive selection won't be coming to Sacramento.
The Kings won't make a run at a Holiday trade, The Athletic's Sam Amick reported Friday.
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Per Amick, the Kings looked into the idea of pursuing Holiday, but decided against it.
Holiday was dealt by the Milwaukee Bucks to the rebuilding Blazers in Wednesday's blockbuster Damian Lillard trade, and now Portland plans to flip the 33-year-old defensive star for more assets.
Speculation about Holiday's ultimate landing spot began immediately after news of the three-team trade also involving the Phoenix Suns broke Wednesday, and on paper, the Kings seem like an ideal fit for the 2009 first-round draft pick.
While the Kings had an NBA-best 119.4 Offensive Rating last season, per Basketball-Reference, they had the sixth-worst Defensive Rating at 116.8.
NBA
ESPN's Brian Windhorst speculated Wednesday that Holiday could be the Kings' missing piece, and mentioned that Sacramento has several future first-round draft picks to offer as well as expiring contracts.
But the Blazers likely want a young player in addition to draft assets, making the Kings a tough match.
Without Holiday, the Kings will have to rely on themselves to improve their defense during the upcoming 2023-24 NBA season.