It was initially reported by top NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski that Jrue Holiday’s return to the New Orleans Pelicans is imminent. Alvin Gentry confirmed that report prior to Monday’s home game vs. Boston, saying the Pelicans expect the starting point guard will be back in uniform sometime soon.
“(There is) not anything definite, but it’s probably going to be within a week for sure, maybe even a couple days,” Gentry said. “I did not talk to him today or communicate with him today, but obviously we’ll find out what’s going on.”
Holiday’s return will give New Orleans (1-9) a bona fide No. 2 scoring threat next to Anthony Davis, something the Pelicans could benefit from greatly. Davis is averaging 31.1 points over the first 10 games of the season, but the drop-off to second on the squad in scoring average is 12.5 by E’Twaun Moore.
Holiday missed the early portion of the season to be with his wife, USA soccer star Lauren Holiday, who underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor and also gave birth to the couple’s first child. The Pelicans told Jrue to take as much time as he needed before returning to the team.
“First of all, the guys realize what he’s been through and how tough it’s been for him,” Gentry said. “Not just that he’s going through the situation with his wife, but also to have a newborn kid. It’s extremely tough. That’s why we wanted him to do it on his terms, to where he felt comfortable coming back. So he could just play basketball and not just worry so much about everything that’s going on. He wasn’t going to be able to do that until he was comfortable with his wife and comfortable with his kid.”