The New Orleans Pelicans agreed to switch JJ Redick to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, avoiding a possible buyout situation for the veteran shooter. Sources told ESPN’s Andrew Lopez that the Pelicans sent Redick and striker Nicolo Melli to Dallas for forwards James Johnson and Wes Iwundu, as well as a 2021 second-round pick.
How much help can Redick provide in Dallas and how did New Orleans do in that deal?
Kevin Pelton hands out commercial notes for both teams.
The deal
The Mavericks get: JJ Redick, Nicolo Melli
Pelicans get: James Johnson, Wes Iwundu, second round of 2021
Get more Pelton commercial notes here
Last season, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Seth Curry from the Mavericks for Josh Richardson in part because they wanted to fill the gaps by shooting JJ Redick in free agency in 2019. Now Dallas has changed in part for Redick to fill the gap. shots left by losing Curry. Unfortunately, the cycle will likely not continue with the Pelicans trading for Curry next year.
The good news is that the Mavericks still have Richardson, which allows them to mix and match the two wings along with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith based on clashes. The shot was a must for Dallas, which has dropped to the league average in terms of a 3-point percentage after finishing 10th in 2019-20.
Despite his very short start to the season, Redick should help him. After making six 3s in the first season of the Pelicans’ season, Redick went from 3 to 26 (11.5%) over the next seven games, and his 3-point percentage was still below 30% when he was temporarily retired from rotation in late January. . Since then, however, Redick has reached 46% of his three in February and March. There’s no particular reason to expect him to be anything other than one of the best shooters in the league, if health permits.
About that: Redick hasn’t played since March 3, missing New Orleans ’last game before the All-Star break and then undergoing a non-surgical procedure to relieve inflammation of his right heel. Presumably, information about Redick’s status was a key part of the trade negotiations.
Ultimately, the Mavericks didn’t give up much here. Iwundu and Johnson, who saw regular minutes early in the season, have dropped out of late rotation as Dallas has climbed from the first hole to seventh place in the Western standings. The goal of the Mavericks will be to pass one more team to avoid having to participate in the play-in tournament. They are currently 1.5 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers for sixth, two behind the Denver Nuggets for fifth and four behind the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the exception of the loss in the play-in tournament, the choice of the second round of Dallas should come in the late 40s or early 50s. Projections based on the ESPN Basketball Power Index they place it in 51st place on average, which means the Mavericks are unlikely to miss much.
In retrospect, it looks like last season was probably the right time to move Redick. The combination of his shooting fall and injury probably helped erode a commercial market that was perhaps more robust when Redick began a strong campaign.
By now, it was worth it for the pelicans to take everything they could get in return. They didn’t necessarily miss Redick, going 4-4 in the absence with young guards Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis Jr.
To avoid going into the luxury tax on regaining Johnson’s contract, New Orleans also sent Melli with Redick to Dallas. After frequently playing as a 29-year-old rookie alongside Zion Williamson, Melli had seen just 241 minutes of action this season. Pelicans are still close enough to the tax line because they will probably have to manage 14th place on the list by leaving it open between ten-day contracts to avoid the tax.