New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Intriguing J.J. Redick Trades With Contenders
By Nick Alvarez
Sending J.J. Redick back to the Los Angeles Clippers can be a big win for the New Orleans Pelicans
Right as I write this, the Los Angeles Clippers are preparing what to do with their team after an embarrassing choke job. The Clippers, added Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and All-Star Paul George to their roster this season in hopes of making a title run. Instead, the team choked away a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets.
In win-now mode, the Clippers need to make some adjustments on the fly, and trading for J.J. Redick in this deal is a step in the right direction.
This is a deal that I believe makes sense for both teams. On the Clippers side, they reunite with J.J. Redick who can come to the Clippers and be the reliable veteran shooting threat that plays off of their superstar duo. Adding a second-round pick doesn’t do much but it will help the team recoup some draft picks after trading away seven picks in the Paul George trade.
Last and most importantly, this deal opens up enough cap-space for the Clippers to resign recently-named Sixth Man of the Year, Montrezl Harrell, and some wiggle room to sign a few veteran free agents. Just what the Clippers need to adjust for 2021.
For the New Orleans Pelicans, I like this move because it fills two holes on their roster. First, the team absorbs Patrick Beverly’s contract but benefit by making him the ideal back-up to Lonzo Ball. An All-Defensive guard with a 38 percent three-point stroke isn’t bad if the Pelicans organization can keep him disciplined.
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Then the big piece to this trade is acquiring Ivica Zubac as a center who can start for the Pelicans and platoon with Jaxson Hayes. Zubac is an intriguing piece because he’s a beast on the boards in limited minutes, and he’s still developing on offense. His passing acumen doesn’t get talked about but is something I’d like to see the Pelicans work with.
The cherry on top is that Zubac already has some chemistry with the team’s young core playing with them on the Los Angeles Lakers. I think the Clippers are willing to give up Zubac because he still needs to develop and got exposed against Nikola Jokic in the playoffs.