Jrue Holiday was one of the driving forces behind back-to-back playoff appearances for the Philadelphia 76ers to kick off this decade. In 2011 and 2012 Jrue took over the reigns as the Sixers starting point guard following the final season of Allen Iverson’s NBA career. Led by head coach Doug Collins, Holiday – along with Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, Elton Brand and a young Evan Turner – was helping the Sixers make some strides towards progressing back to some success.

They were eliminated in the first round of the 2011 postseason by a Miami Heat super team making their first playoff run. Then in 2012, the Sixers upset the Chicago Bulls in the first round following Derrick Rose’s first major knee injury. In the second round, they were eliminated in seven games by the Boston Celtics.

Despite the success, that the team seemingly caught accidentally, members of the front office apparently didn’t quite see anything worth building on. In the summer of 2012, they traded their only potential star player when they dealt Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets as a part of the Dwight Howard to the Lakers four-team deal. Philly received Andrew Bynum, which quickly became a failed experiment. Thus, ‘the process’ began.

Following a 34-38 season in 2012-13, Doug Collins was let go and Holiday was shipped out of town. He was sent to the New Orleans Pelicans on a draft day deal which saw Philly receive another first round pick and Nerlens Noel. Holiday has been solid in his time with the Pelicans, but injuries and some personal issues have restricted his time on the court. He has yet to have a season with the Pelicans in which he played more than 65 games.

His time with the Pelicans has not been great to this point, and his contract is expiring at season’s end. With New Orleans looking to get some new pieces around Anthony Davis, his time in the big easy might be numbered.

So with Jrue hitting the free agency market in the summer, it might be time for Holiday to return to where his career once started. A reunion in Philadelphia might be in the works.

Following from Zach Lowe of ESPN.

The Pelicans will probably ride it out with Holiday, and hope the bidding for him doesn’t get $20-million-per-year frothy. They might win that bet. Chicago and Dallas, two obvious suitors, won’t have that kind of room unless funky stuff happens with options linked to Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade. The Spurs can’t get there unless Pau Gasol opts out.

That would leave only Sacramento, Philadelphia, New York, and perhaps Orlando as big-money suitors in dire need of a point guard. The Sixers will take a hard look at Holiday, sources say; he fits what they need around Ben Simmons, and the hilariousness of Philly bringing Holiday back after flipping him to start The Process is irresistible.

Jrue Holiday returning to the 76ers this summer would absolutely make some sense. But as Lowe said in his piece, there might be other teams vying for his services, but Philly might be the best situation. The Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks might have a solidified All-Star on their roster with some young guys sprinkled in, but their organizations are complete messes. In Philly, Holiday could be that point guard who can run the offense as Ben Simmons gets used to the NBA and also go play some off-ball while Ben creates as the lead ball handler. Plus, a Holiday and Embiid pick and roll could be beautiful.

Jrue is still only 26 going on 27, and he has yet to hit his prime. We all saw what he was capable of when healthy. His numbers might be down so far this season, but he’s still a better option at point guard than anyone else on the Sixers roster right now. (Sorry T.J. McConnell and Sergio Rodriguez.)

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