New Orleans Pelicans: Two Offseason Trades for J.J. Redick

New Orleans Pelicans: Offseason Trades for J.J. Redick

Another team in need of 3-point shooting is the Phoenix Suns, who had a nice start to the season but fizzled out down the stretch.

They will still be invited to Orlando, so they aren’t that far away from at least contending for a playoff spot. They have a couple of nice pieces in Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton, but are just 19th in 3-point percentage as a team.

Adding J.J. Redick would allow the Suns to surround Ayton with shooters, potentially opening up his post game, as well as creating wide-open shots.

The Pelicans need a backup point guard, preferably one who can create shots for his teammates or knock down 3-pointers at a high rate.

This trade would be risky for both sides, as it would diminish the Pelicans’ long-range shooting and leave the Suns without a reliable point guard, but it still makes some sense.

The Suns get their shooter and the Pels get their backup point guard.

There are several obvious issues with this. The first is that the Pelicans would be taking back more money and years, as Rubio still has two years remaining on his contract after this one and Redick has just one.

Taking on Rubio’s $17 million could potentially hamper the New Orleans Pelicans in the future as they try to extend Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson.

But think of the alley oops!

The Pelicans would have two of the best passers in the game in Ball and Rubio, and Rubio, like Ball is also a plus-defender and is still only 29-years-old.

Rubio could run the second unit and also be insurance against any injuries to Lonzo Ball or Jrue Holiday. The Pelicans would have a lot tied up in their backcourt, but Rubio would still be off the books before it was time to extend Zion.

Rubio could move the needle for the Pelicans, but is he worth the extra money and years?

There will certainly be other trades out there for J.J. Redick, especially after the dust settles from the draft and free agency, but the Pels are unlikely to find a deal where they don’t have to take back extra years.

The best bet might just be to let the Pelicans run it back at full-strength and see what they can do, as deadline trades for Redick will be there next season.