New Orleans Pelicans: Setting Expectations for J.J. Redick

The New Orleans Pelicans roster no longer lacks a top end shooter, as the Pelicans signed JJ Redick to a two-year $26.5 million contract.

The New Orleans Pelicans continued their run of off-season success by signing JJ Redick. Within hours of the official start to NBA Free Agency, the New Orleans Pelicans had Redick’s signature on a two-year $26.5 million deal.

Like most of the Pelicans off-season, the signing of Redick has been universally praised. Still, the Pelicans will have to manage expectations while rebuilding the roster around Zion Williamson. David Griffin is building a winning culture with championship levels of support in New Orleans and continues to bring in individuals with championship resumes.

JJ Redick solves many of the Pelicans shooting and spacing woes for a couple of dozen minutes per game. He provides a special kind of locker room leadership. If the Duke Blue Devil links were not enough, he has Jrue Holiday’s trust. 

The New Orleans Pelicans are betting JJ Redick has at least two more years of historically good shooting. In hopes he can continue on, Redick is showing trust in the Aaron Nelson led injury prevention and player development program.

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He is one of the premier shooters in NBA history. Redick is creeping into the top 20 of many all-time shooting list, including made three-pointers. Throughout his career, JJ Redick has gotten volume shots and consistently knocks down over 40% of his attempts.

That is his history, and the Pelicans should expect the same in the near future. Still, the two-year contract keeps the team’s options wide open. The future is bright in the short term with Redick on the roster; he could also be a movable asset in his second year.

JJ Redick basically replaces Solomon Hill in the New Orleans Pelicans wage structure as well as the roster. That is a great value find by David Griffin. Redick may not play the 31.3 minutes per game he got in Philadelphia, but a good 24 minutes of time will give him plenty of shots.

When Redick is not running defenders ragged in search of quick jumpers, he helps keep the team connected and the offense moving. Redick averaged 2.7 assists and 2.4 rebounds. He can hit the open man and smartly positions himself for long rebounds.

JJ Redick compiled these numbers in varying offensive systems. Duke University’s all-time leading scorer went to the Grant Hill led Orlando Magic to start his career. He was shipped to Milwaukee for a spell everyone would rather forget. Redick really made his NBA bones spacing the floor for the Lob City Clippers.

The New Orleans Pelicans can expect plenty of floor spacing when Redick is on the floor. However, Redick cannot be expected to log over 30 minutes a game. It goes against the new load management trends and would take minutes away from younger players.

Since Redick will be playing fewer minutes, most would assume his points per game go down. However, a fresher JJ Redick might prove more accurate. Redick played over 31 minutes per game for only the second time in his career and played his fourth most games. He posted some of the lowest shooting percentages of his career.

Redick can still find a couple of rebounds a game just through smarts and energy. He will find his shots and may even post career-best assist numbers. The New Orleans Pelicans cannot expect Redick to solve a game’s worth of spacing in only two-quarters time.

JJ Redick is still a flame thrower but does not have a season’s worth of fuel for constant full game work. Alvin Gentry will have to work to find him a few shots per game to keep teams honest and Redick in rhythm and away from the brick-house blues.