JJ Redick is one of the biggest names that could be traded before the NBA Trade Deadline. The New Orleans Pelicans are in no place to make a legitimate run and as an expiring contract, the veteran Redick becomes a no-brainer to trade.
At this point, it would be more surprising if Redick didn’t get traded than if he did. David Griffin runs a smart operation and the Pelicans’ front office knows it needs to capitalize on any value that Redick has instead of simply letting him walk.
That raises the question:
Should the Los Angeles Lakers trade for JJ Redick?
As NBA title favorites, the Los Angeles Lakers are naturally going to be in the market for most big-name role players. Rob Pelinka will improve the team at any cost and we saw that this past offseason.
Some are already even trying their hand at breaking down a potential trade that would send Redick to the Lakers. While the idea of Redick returning to Los Angeles, this time with the Lakers, is interesting, it just is not plausible.
He is one of the biggest names on the trade market and the Lakers are going to be one of the most prominent buyers on the market, but Redick is simply not going to don the purple and gold. Here is why.
1. JJ Redick does not really add anything new to the Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are tied for the most wins in the league and that is not by accident. The Lakers are a very good basketball team and while recent games have been closer than Laker fans would be comfortable, they are still the favorites to win the NBA Championship for a reason.
The reason is that the team has arguably the best depth in the entire league behind the best 1-2 superstar punch in the league. That is really hard to do but general manager Rob Pelinka figured out just how to do it with a tremendous offseason.
Of course, the Lakers should still look to improve where they can but they simply aren’t getting better by adding J.J. Redick. Last season, sure, the team needed more three-point shooting. They really do not need that on this team.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a fine shooter, Alex Caruso has taken a huge step up and the Lakers added two solid shooters in Dennis Schroder and Wesley Matthews, although Schroder is off to a slow start.
With the youngster Talen Horton-Tucker, the Lakers have plenty of guard depth.
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The last thing this team needs is an old guard who is regressing. Redick is currently shooting 34.7% from beyond the arc, which is the worst mark of his career. His 15.1 points per 36 minutes are the fewest of his career since the 2010-11 season.
More importantly, he is a bad defensive player. The Lakers have built a defensive identity and the last thing the team needs is a one-way veteran guard who is getting worse at the one way that he is supposed to contribute in.
But if you disagree with my assessment of Redick and still think the Lakers should trade for him I have one more clinching fact to look at.
2. The Los Angeles Lakers do not have the means to pull off a trade that makes sense
This is the biggest reason why it won’t happen. Even if the Los Angeles Lakers did value JJ Redick (which I highly doubt), it is simply too difficult for the Lakers to pull off a trade because of his contract.
The Lakers certainly could trade for Redick and it is not completely impossible, but it is highly unlikely. The Lakers are not going to just send whatever contract they have to match Redick in order to make a trade possible.
Redick is making $13 million this season so it is not going to be easy to simply acquire him. There are three paths the Lakers could take just to make the trade possible, let alone one that is worthwhile for the Pelicans.
- Trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and assets for Redick
- Trade Dennis Schroder for Redick
- Trade Montrezl Harrell + Wesley Matthews/Talen Horton-Tucker/Kyle Kuzma for Redick
The Los Angeles Lakers are just not going to do any of those packages. Again, even if the Lakers value Redick, they would be getting worse if they made any of those trades, not better.
So while Redick is one of the most intriguing names on the trade market, he is not a fit for the Los Angeles Lakers.