Holiday to re-join Warriors for White House visit

Holiday was part of the Warriors’ NBA Championship winning team last season before joining the Hawks this summer as a free agent. The Warriors will make the league champion’s annual trip to Washington, D.C. where they will meet with President Barack Obama.

When told of the possibility to accompany the Warriors, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer insisted Holiday make the trip.

“I asked Bud and he was like, ‘Yeah. It’s something special you need to do,’” Holiday said Wednesday. “Then we looked at the schedule and it happened to work out. I was like ‘Oh yeah. We’re going.’”

The timing was indeed perfect for Holiday. The Hawks played in Philadelphia Wednesday night. They departed for Atlanta after the game to get ready for Friday’s game against the Pacers. Holiday remained so he could detour to the nation’s capital.

“My first thought was that if I don’t get to go, oh well,” Holiday said. “Now that I’m going, I’m very excited. I’ll see some old friends. And I’ll go to the White House, which I have no idea what to expect. It will be a good story for my kids. I got to meet the President at the White House.”

Holiday will wait to get his championship from the Warriors. That will come March 1 when the Hawks play at Golden State.

Budenholzer knows all about going to the White House. He went four times as an assistant with the Spurs.

“It’s a pretty big deal to go to the White House, visit and shake the President’s hand,” Budenholzer said. “If you do it 10 or 15 times in a row maybe it gets boring but that first time undoubtedly you should do it. Our schedule fits with the timing of it.

“We have so much respect for (coach) Steve Kerr and (general manager) Bob Myers. Obviously, he had a great experience with them. He’ll have a great experience (Thursday). I can guarantee it. I’ve been lucky enough to do it a couple times.”