Jrue Holiday on U.S. Select Team, Seeking Max Contract

Here's some good/dangerous news two days into free agency: John Finger of CSN is reporting that Sixers point guard and bearer of the Jruth, Jrue Holiday, will be on the U.S. Select Team. He joins names like Greg Stiemsma (!) on the team where he'll lube up the actual Team USA before they do work overseas. They play in Vegas next week, from July 6th to the 11th, just before the rest of us get there for Summer League. Cool.

IN OTHER NEWS, Marc Stein reports that Jrue is also seeking a MAX CONTRACT from the Sixers. OK dude. Like, I love you and all, but there's no way that based on production, you deserve a max contract right now. I hope you one day become a max contract kind of player, but you are certainly not that right now and if the Sixers did give you all the money in the world, that would hogtie them into some fiscal straits in terms of team-building.

Obviously players always want a max contract, so this could be nothing more than posturing from Jrue and his agent to get the most money they can with restricted free agency a year away. Twitter is blowing up with jokes about Jrue getting a max extension. Hurts me to see them poke fun at our boy, but there's just no way the Sixers can afford to give Holiday a max contract right now. But losing him would be pretty crippling as well since he's likely our most important building block for the future.

We'll have a lot more on this as the Jrue contract sitch moves on, but discuss it now. I don't think Jrue will get a contract like that anywhere, so maybe he's just set on testing out free agency. Either way, I don't want him to leave so hopefully they come to a less crippling agreement soonish.