New Orleans Pelicans: David Griffin should have traded J.J. Redick sooner

By the time New Orleans Pelicans’ VP David Griffin pulled the trigger on the J.J. Redick trade I was shocked that he was able to get anything at all.

Not only was Redick playing terribly, but he was coming off an injury and had yet to show that he could even play.

So Griffin has to be given some credit for turning Redick and Nicolo Melli into James Johnson, Wesley Iwundu and a second-round pick, as that was more than anyone thought they would get.

That includes Redick himself, who was hoping to be bought out so that he could join a contender on the East coast and be closer to his family.

Redick made it clear how unhappy he was about it when he trashed Griffin on his podcast not long after being traded.

He also claimed that he had requested the trade back in November. So while I give David Griffin some credit for the return he was able to get, I have to wonder why he didn’t do it sooner.

New Orleans Pelicans: J.J. Redick was bad and unhappy

Redick had a horrible start to the season and was really hurting the Pelicans early on. He was mired in a season-long slump  but Stan Van Gundy had little choice at the time but to keep playing him.

Redick might have been struggling with a minor injury but it is also clear now in retrospect that he was very unhappy with his role in New Orleans.

So David Griffin had an unhappy player who was playing poorly but had a history that some team would have traded for back in November. It seems like getting rid of an unhappy guy is a pretty good way to improve team chemistry.

The Pels have played better without Redick but it might be too late to matter.

New Orleans Pelicans: James Johnson is what this team has needed all along

James Johnson has been great since coming to the Pelicans and gives them an element they’ve been missing, which is some defense and toughness off the bench.

Josh Hart has played that role well but he is just one guy and is often undersized for what the Pelicans were asking him to do.

Johnson has defended all over the floor, shot the ball pretty well and the Pels have looked like a different team since he’s joined. They are playing harder, hustling and have not gotten pushed around as much as they were earlier in the season.

Johnson and Naji Marshall have been pleasant surprises that the Pelicans might have found earlier had they just jettisoned Redick back in November.