Former Chicago Bulls: Justin Holiday unhappy in Indiana?

A member of last year’s Chicago Bulls team, small forward Justin Holiday, doesn’t seem to be too happy with his situation with the Indiana Pacers.

A former member of the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers small forward Justin Holiday, is one of the more notable role players that is about to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. Holiday is set to hit free agency after a one year stint with the Pacers. But it looked recently like Holiday was set to return to Indy after this offseason.

He was pretty good for the Pacers in his 72 games played in Indy. In 73 games played with the Pacers in the season that was (six of which he started), Holiday was one of the better two-way players on the team. He averaged 8.3 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks.

Holiday did that while shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 79.1 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to a career-best 1.3 box plus/minus rating (1.8 defensive box plus/minus), 1.5 value over replacement player rating, .112 win shares per 48 minutes, 4.2 total win shares, and a 58.5 true shooting percentage.

In the season that was for the Pacers, Holiday was a very high volume three-point shooter. He registered a career-high 68.1 three-point attempt rate during the 2019-20 season. And he made the most of that opportunity with a career-best three point shooting percentage.

But with all of the production that the Pacers saw this season out of Holiday, you’d figure this would be someone they’d want to try to keep happy and around beyond this offseason. Finding two-way wings that are role players like Holiday is difficult in this day and ago. He should be a highly sought after wing in free agency later this offseason.

Apparently Holiday is now too happy with the situation in the locker room with the Pacers. While it seemed like it was happy with the Pacers, that situation might not hold much longer. If that is how Holiday feels heading into the official start of this free agent cycle, that could mean that he no longer is in a Pacers uniform next season.

Holiday played for the Bulls for most of his career to date. He’s played in 137 career regular season games in a Bulls uniform (114 of which he started). In those 137 games, Holiday averaged 10.9 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks. He shot 37.9 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Should Holiday be someone that the Bulls go after now that the Pacers rid of his head coach in Indy? Former Pacers head coach Nate McMillan could be a potential target for the Bulls next head coaching hire, and Holiday realistically could be a target at a position of need in this cycle of free agency.