JJ Redick Rumors: Pelicans Expected to Buy Out SG's Contract Amid Trade Buzz
March 24, 2021
The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to buy out the remainder of shooting guard JJ Redick's contract, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Redick, who will be a free agent this summer, entered this season with one year and $13,013,700 remaining on his contract, per HoopsHype.
Redick wishes to play for a team close to his family, which resides in Brooklyn, per Pompey. Philadelphia is roughly 100 miles from Brooklyn, and Pompey speculated that the 76ers could be an option.
The 36-year-old Redick is averaging 8.7 points on 40.7 percent shooting (36.4 percent three-point rate) in 18.6 minutes an outing. He has played 31 games but none since March 3. The ex-Duke star is currently sitting with right heel soreness.
He hasn't played nearly as much as he's used to on a struggling Pels team that is currently 19-24 and 2.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the final spot in the Western Conference postseason play-in tournament.
Still, Redick is a deadly outside shooter when healthy and could be a key contributor off a contending team's bench down the stretch. He notably averaged a career-high 18.1 points per game for the 76ers as their starting shooting guard in 2018-19 and posted 15.3 points per game last year for the Pels.
Ultimately, he is probably best-served finishing out his career on a contending team elsewhere.
The Brooklyn Nets are second in the Eastern Conference, and the 76ers are first, so either of those teams could work if Redick wants to be closer to his family.
The 22-22 New York Knicks are in the thick of the playoff race as well, although they're further down the standings in seventh.
Redick shouldn't have too much trouble finding a team to play for in the season's closing months as he searches for his first-ever NBA title.