Earlier this month, veteran sharpshooter JJ Redick got shipped from New Orleans to Dallas, where he has been working to help the Mavericks squeeze into the postseason.
And while Redick hasn’t publicly complained about this new chapter of his career, it is no secret that he was angling for a move to the Northeast, with teams like Boston, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn being his top destinations.
Apparently, before the trade went down, the Pelicans had promised to send him to a place he’d like — a promise that was broken when they shipped him to Dallas instead of the three teams he had picked before.
“I don’t think you’re going to get honesty from that front office, objectively speaking. That’s not an opinion, I just don’t think you’re gonna get that. I don’t think what happened with me is necessarily an isolated incident.
I think front offices around the league operate in their best interest. I get that. I understand that. Truthfully… I think I was a little naive thinking I was in Year 15 and I attempted to do things right throughout my career”
But in terms of this front office, yeah, it’s not something where I would expect certainly the agents who worked on this with me to ever trust that front office again,” said Redick.
JJ Redick on his @OldManAndThree podcast re: trade to Dallas from NOLA:
– Says he made a trade request in November before the season
– Around the time of Jrue trade
– Knew what was coming with Stan's defensive schemes
– Had convos with Griff and Trajan.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) March 31, 2021
– If family came to NOLA, kids would have to quarantine for a week when they got back to Brooklyn
– Says Griff basically told him, "Come down for a month, if you still want out, I give you my word, I'll get you to a situation you like"
– Had 4 convos after this directly w Griff
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) March 31, 2021
Redick: "Obviously, he did not honor his word."
– Says his understanding once after he wasn't traded at aggregate deadline was that he was going to get a buyout or traded to a team in the Northeast
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) March 31, 2021
At the end of the day, this side of the story is coming from Redick’s perspective, and there is no doubt that the Pelicans front office might have some other points to make about it.
Still, an important part of a team’s success is their ability to sign free agents, which (for the Pelicans) seems to be hindered now considering how untrustworthy this situation with Redick makes them look. Needless to say, JJ’s words have definitely done some damage.
