Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg has a lot of trust in Justin Holiday, but why is he playing the veteran over the young guys?
Justin Holiday is 29-years-old. He’s currently in his fifth season in the NBA.
Justin is in his last year of his contract with the Chicago Bulls. In 20 games this season, he has played a total of 707 minutes, which is ranked fifth in the NBA. He’s averaging 35.4 minutes per game, and that is ranked 11th in the NBA.
So far this season, Justin Holiday is averaging 12.8 points, and 4.5 rebounds per game. He has played between 30-39 minutes in 14 games this season.
Why is Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg giving Holiday so many minutes? Is it because the Bulls are so short handed, or is it because the team is trying to raise his trade value?
The Bulls are currently missing four key players, but I believe the only reason the Bulls are playing Justin Holiday a lot is because they are trying to raise his trade value. I don’t buy that Holiday is getting a lot of minutes because the team is currently short handed.
While that might be partially true, the Bulls have plenty of young players on the roster that can easily play over Holiday if Hoiberg chooses to play them. For example, Hoiberg could play Antonio Blakeney and Chandler Hutchison more, but he continues to give Holiday those minutes.
Justin is a solid player and a leader on this Bulls team, but there’s no way he should be averaging 35.4 minutes per game.
Just look at the last two Bulls games. Against the Heat, Justin played 39 minutes. Against the Timberwolves, he played 40 minutes. He has led the Bulls in minutes in each of the last two games. I just don’t understand that at all.
The only way it would make some sense to me is that by the trade deadline Holiday is playing for another team. He isn’t part of the Bulls future, and playing close to 40 minutes a night takes away playing time for the young guys.
If I was the Bulls I would start calling other teams and see what I can get in return for Holiday. There’s no way Holiday should be part of this team after the trade deadline.
The Bulls front office had a chance to trade Justin Holiday last season, but they didn’t like what was offered to them. Is this season going to be different?