The New Orleans Pelicans received $660,000 from the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday when they traded away the 56th pick in the NBA draft.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the NBA ordered the 76ers to pay the Pelicans $3 million last season after not fully disclosing guard Jrue Holiday’s injury history when they traded him to New Orleans two years ago.
Pelicans General Manager Dell Demps told The Advocate on Sunday that he had no comment on the story. The Inquirer cited two unnamed sources in its report; 76ers General Manager Sam Hinkie declined to comment to the Inquirer, and a team source disputed the suggestion that the team withheld information.
Holiday has played two seasons in New Orleans, and he was plagued by injuries both years.
The Inquirer reported that Holiday played with stress fractures in his lower right leg during his final season in Philadelphia, but the Pelicans were not made aware of that during trade talks.
Holiday’s first season with the Pelicans ended in February 2014 when he had surgery for a stress fracture in his right tibia; he had to have a rod and screw inserted. Holiday missed over half the season, playing in just 34 games. He averaged 14.3 points and 7.9 assists.
The injury bug bit him again this past season, when he only played half of the regular season because of a right lower-leg stress reaction. Holiday averaged 14.8 points and 6.9 assists in 40 games; he returned for three of the final four regular-season games and played in all four playoff games as the Pelicans were swept by eventual NBA champion Golden State.
Holiday played an average of 75 games per year in his four seasons in Philadelphia. In an April interview, he said he isn’t sure why he has had problems with his leg.