For the first time since the Dallas Mavericks officially acquired him a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans last Friday, guard JJ Redick finally met his new teammates and coaches.
The occasion happened Thursday in New York while the Mavs were in The Big Apple preparing for Friday’s game at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. Redick, who lives in Brooklyn and who has been rehabbing his sore right heel, was able to interact with his new coaches and teammates.
“I was able to see a couple of the guys this morning when I came in for testing and then I went and did my work, my court work for an hour and then. . .I just kind of hung around the gym until the team showed up,” Redick said. “I was able to have some interactions before practice and after practice with the guys.
“A couple of them, like Boban (Marjanovic) and Nico (Melli), I played with before. But I’m looking forward to getting to know everybody.”
And the Mavs are looking forward to knowing Redick. More specifically, they’re looking forward to seeing one of the game’s best sharp shooters do what he does best.
“(He’s an) experienced basketball player and one of the greatest shooters in the history of the game,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He knows how to play and he’s got 110 playoff games experience.
“He’s a guy that situationally whose shooting is a difference maker, and defensively he’s proven over his career that he’s a solid system defender. We feel like he can help us on the floor, we feel he can help us with our day-to-day culture. He’s a meticulous worker and a tireless preparation guy, and all those things are great things to add to your organization.”
Redick, who hasn’t played since he scored 22 points in only 28 minutes during a March 3 game against the Chicago Bulls, isn’t sure when he’ll be able to go through a full practice with the Mavs, let along play in a game. He added that the last 48 hours of his personal workouts have been very good.
“Last week, I started on Monday, and it was just a general progression from standstill, spot-shooting, a lot of form shooting, free throws, stationary ball handling to shorter movements,” Redick said. “The last couple of days I’ve been able to do some sprinting, whether it’s 15-20 feet short sprints or full court sprints.
“So it’s just a matter of being able to maintain that – this is all progression build-up – so I’m hopeful that I’m close and not too far away. It’s hard to really get a timeline on anything, but this is exactly three weeks from my injection and I think I’m progressing well.”
The Mavs are 25-21 and have just 26 games remaining before the playoffs starts. Asked how many games he’ll reasonably need to play to get into tip-top condition before the postseason starts, Redick was matter-of-fact.
“I’d like to play in every game from here on out,” he said. “I like to play basketball, so there’s no ideal number. The ideal number is the most amount of games possible.
“Like a lot of players, I’m a rhythm player, so I want to be in a good rhythm going into the playoffs, I want to get a good sense kind of how I can help this team and fit in. I’ve not played a basketball game since March 3, so I’m itching to get back on the court. I love playing, so I want to play as many games as possible and try to help this team.”
The Mavs also are itching to get Redick back on the court and in one of their uniforms for the first time.
“He did not practice (Thursday), but he worked out and he did some treatments,” Carlisle said. “We don’t have a timetable for his return to playing games, but my understanding is that things are going in a very good direction and we obviously hope that he can be 100 percent sooner than later.”
Carlisle believes whenever Redick is able to go through a full practice and play in a game, he’ll be a huge benefit to the Mavs. Especially with his uncanny ability to stretch the floor.
“I’ve seen him over the course of his career,” Carlisle said. “He’s had stretches where he’s missed a few games here and there. He is such a meticulous preparation guy and such a hard worker that my feeling is from what I’ve seen over the years, any time he’s coming back he’s been able to get back into it pretty quickly.
“At this stage in his career, a couple of weeks, a couple or three weeks off – whatever it’s been – might actually be a good thing. But the exact timetable (for his return), I don’t know that. For being a veteran player, once he’s healthy we’ll have him out on the floor playing and we’ll try to figure it out as quickly as we can.”
In 31 games for the Pelicans this season, Redick averaged 8.7 points in 18.6 minutes and shot 40.7 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range. In 927 games in his career – including 488 starts – he is averaging 12.9 points in 25.7 minutes, and is shooting 44.7 percent from the floor and 41.5 percent from beyond the 3-point range.
With his ability to rattle defenses with his long-range shooting, Redick is definitely looking forward to playing alongside point guard Luka Doncic and forward/center Kristaps Porzingis. He knows that opens up more chances for him to be even more successful.
“They’re great players,” Redick said. “I’m very excited to play with them in a sense that they’re both the proverbial unicorn.
“There’s not many people at 7-3 that can do what KP does, and Luka is as good as anybody in the league at creating his own shot and creating for other people. I’ve been very fortunate to play with some great players in my career, and those two guys are going to be at the top of the list for sure.”
The Mavs acquired Redick and Melli for James Johnson, Wes Iwundu, a 2021 second-round draft pick and cash. The consensus college Player of the Year in 2006 and a consensus two-time first-team All-American in 2005 and ’06, Redick certainly had a decorated college career while playing for Duke.
“I know he was one of the most hated college players of all-time,” said Mavs guard Jalen Brunson, who was the consensus college Player of the Year in 2018 and won national titles at Villanova in 2016 and ’18. “He’s a great shooter, a great player and from what I heard from former teammates, he’s a great teammate.
“We’re going to be excited to have him. He should be a great guy to be in the locker room. He’s been around this for awhile, so he should be a great addition to our team and I think he’ll fit in perfectly.”
Meanwhile, Redick addressed the national firestorm he created Wednesday when, on his podcast – The Old Man & The Three – he said Pelicans executive vice-president of basketball operations David Griffin told Redick he was going to honor Redick’s wishes and trade him to a team in the Northeast section of the United States so Redick could be near his wife and two young kids, who lives in Brooklyn. The request by Redick wasn’t honored.
“First of all, you’re going to get asked about that in a Zoom session with the Dallas media,” Redick said. “You’re going to get asked about that in weeks after any trade happens. I happen to have a platform, so the reason I addressed it was because I know I’m going to get asked that question, and I’m going to answer that question from you the same way that I would be on my podcast, which is just going to be honest and truthful. That was my honest assessment of what transpired.
“In terms of the Dallas situation, I know I reiterated this several times on the podcast, hey look, this is a great situation. Basketball-wise I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I’m hoping that I can really help this team in a few ways and contribute to winning and contribute to hopefully a long playoff run.”
A 15-year veteran, Redick even had owner Mark Cuban on one of his earlier podcasts.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Mark and the businessman and the owner and what he’s built with the Dallas Mavericks,” Redick said. “The great thing about the podcast for me is I typically get to learn something every episode.
“If my memory serves me correct, Mark was an awesome guest and I really enjoyed that conversation.”
A devout Christian, Redick also really enjoys delving in the Bible. He has four tattoos of Bible verses on his body.
“Your faith is what grounds you,” Redick said. “In our profession you have a lot of ups and downs. You have ups and downs in your personal life, you have ups and downs in your professional life, you’re constantly being critiqued and judged literally on a daily basis during the season, and emotionally and mentally that can take its toll.
“Everybody has sort of a grounding force. And in my life, going back to when I was a child, it has always been my faith. That’s sort of the building block in which everything else in my life happens.”
For the Mavs, who play at the Washington Wizards on Saturday before returning home to host Utah on Monday, they hope Redick will be another building block in their quest to win another NBA title.
“He’s going to join us on the remainder of this trip tomorrow in New York, Saturday in Washington and then travel back to Dallas with us,” Carlisle said. “This, I guess, officially completes the trade and we’ll move forward from here.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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