JJ Redick was among the last players dealt at the NBA’s trade deadline, as he was sent from New Orleans to Dallas where the Mavs hope he will provide them with some additional three-point shooting and a veteran presence.
Redick being dealt came as little surprise to most, as he had been on the trade block for months, but he was “shocked” by the trade, in particular where he was traded, because he had made clear where he wanted to go. Redick’s family lives in Brooklyn and he wanted to be dealt somewhere in the Northeast where he could easily drive to see his family on off days and they could more readily see him play in the midst of COVID-19 protocols. Dallas, of course, is further from Brooklyn than New Orleans, and Redick felt he had an understanding with David Griffin and the Pelicans front office that if he were dealt, it’d be to a team in the Northeast or he would get bought out after the deadline.
The veteran shooter discussed all of this on his podcast, The Old Man and the Three on Wednesday, and took aim at Griffin for not being one to “honor his word” by dealing him to a team that wasn’t in his preferred location.
JJ Redick on his podcast:
– He was "shocked" to be traded to the Mavericks
– He requested a trade in November to be closer to his family in Brooklyn during COVID
– He thought the Pelicans would offer a buyout after the trade deadline pic.twitter.com/ElgsesVFHT— Master (@MasterTes) March 31, 2021
The entire situation is a tricky one and falls into a similar category as the current debate about whether the buyout market needs to be regulated or tweaked to avoid having veterans push out of bad situations and onto championship contending teams for the minimum. With Redick, it’s more than just being on a competitor, as he notes that Dallas is a great organization and has a team that’s intriguing to play for. It’s an issue of location and wanting to be closer to his kid, which is a more than understandable desire. However, as is always said at this time of year, the NBA is a business, and if a team was offering a haul the Pelicans believes makes them better, even if they wanted to do right by Redick, their primary job is to do right by the organization and make the team better.
The buyout market has formed because of the need to keep agents and players happy with your organization, a long con for the next time you have to work with that player’s agent and they are telling them whether that org is good or not. However, sometimes a player is too good for a buyout and the teams he desires aren’t the ones putting forth the best offers. That appears to be the case with Redick, a player many teams have a use for as a shooter, but that wasn’t a need, at least in a trade, for a team like the Nets or Sixers or Celtics after they dealt for Evan Fournier. As such, it was a team in Dallas that had the need and was willing to part with a package that interested the Pelicans, and while Redick’s frustration and hurt feelings are understandable, in the same way, so is how the Pelicans went about this deal.
