ATLANTA, GA -- Justin Holiday so far hasn't been as successful as his brother Jrue. Except for the whole NBA Championship part. Now the younger Holiday gets a chance to prove his worth on a new deal.
Justin Holiday agreed to sign a contract with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday afternoon, bringing him from the champion Golden State Warriors to Atlanta, where Mike Budenholzer provided a full-swing turnaround to help the Hawks finish the top team in the East and the second-best in the association right behind the crew from the Bay Area, notching 60 wins on the 2014-2015 campaign.
Unfortunately, Atlanta was eliminated from Playoff contention by Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Justin's new deal is over a supposed length of two years, but he cannot officially sign on until midnight of July 9th.
As a Warrior, Holiday never did get many minutes behind Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but did prove he is very capable of earning more substantial minutes on a team in need of depth.
As a 6'6" combo guard in 2014-2015 for Golden State, he played 11.1 minutes per game, and in that time on the floor put up averages of 4.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.7 steals per game. He appeared in 59 contests, starting 4.
Breaking down those stats into starter minutes, which Holiday still will most not likely receive with the Hawks, the 26 year-old put up 13.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 steals per 36 minutes. Not bad for a two-year NBA player below the Splash Brothers on the depth chart.
Holiday obviously has impressed the Hawks enough to warrant a multi-year deal from the team, but now it is all about whether he can impress spectators and teammates on the court. If he plays well enough, he may be able to finagle a larger role for himself in 2017 during free agency.