JJ Redick - Franchise cornerstone?

[SupaDave]

After hearing of last night's trade it immediately occurred to me that the Magic have no other big names and at the same time JJ is the one player they've held on to. I haven't reviewed the roster but this move pretty much makes him the face of the franchise - no? Thoughts? What does this do for his career? His endorsements? Does he jump to 20ppg this year? This trade has a lot of reverberations....

[flyingdutchdevil]

After hearing of last night's trade it immediately occurred to me that the Magic have no other big names and at the same time JJ is the one player they've held on to. I haven't reviewed the roster but this move pretty much makes him the face of the franchise - no? Thoughts? What does this do for his career? His endorsements? Does he jump to 20ppg this year? This trade has a lot of reverberations....

Best player on the team automatically becomes Afflalo, which means that Orlando will be competing with the Bobcats for the worst record. JJ is a good defensive player, great teammate, and fantastic shooter. IMO, I wouldn't be surprised if Orlando trades Redick this season. And I hope that Redick gets traded - Orlando is just such a hell-hole right now.

Fun city, terrible sports team. Sad...

[theschwartz]

They still have Jameer Nelson, Glen Davis, Hedo...as I look at their roster, that's about it in terms of returning guys with any real experience. Not exactly a murderer's row. They already traded Ryan Anderson to the Hornets. Wouldn't be surprised if they jettison Hedo as well at some point this offseason. They get back Afflalo (who plays the same position as JJ and would probably start), Harrington (who'll get to chuck up tons of shots), and Vukecic.

I'm guessing their starting lineup will be Nelson, Afflalo, Turkoglu, Harrington & Big Baby. JJ could spell Nelson or Afflalo in bigger lineups, or Turkoglu in smaller. He should still be able to get his shots, but the Magic are looking like a 15-20 win team. For purpose of comparison, look at Gerald Henderson (and Maggette to a lesser extent) in Charlotte this year. Being the top scorer on a dreadful team didn't exactly skyrocket his marketability. If JJ can help lead the Magic to 30 or more wins, I'd call that a huge accomplishment.

[CDu]

After hearing of last night's trade it immediately occurred to me that the Magic have no other big names and at the same time JJ is the one player they've held on to. I haven't reviewed the roster but this move pretty much makes him the face of the franchise - no? Thoughts? What does this do for his career? His endorsements? Does he jump to 20ppg this year? This trade has a lot of reverberations....

Unfortunately for Redick, the main guy Orlando got in return (Afflalo) plays the same position. So I don't see Redick becoming the face of the franchise. In fact, this trade could push him to the bench in spite of the fact that the team will be much worse. I'd be shocked if Redick scores 20ppg this year.

[SupaDave]

I can't say that Afflalo sends Redick to the bench. Redick should could back improved and new coach Vaughn will value his heady play. Vaughn was quite the cerebral point guard in his day. Considering everything that the Magic are losing I wouldn't be surprised to see the two play together frequently with JJ running some point which we have seen him do. He could end up playing the most minutes on the team alternating at the one and the two. (btw, Duhon could end up at the Lakers)

Ish Smith and Liggins aren't ready for prime-time. This leaves Afflalo, Redick, and Nelson as the primary ball handlers.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I can't say that Afflalo sends Redick to the bench. Redick should could back improved and new coach Vaughn will value his heady play. Vaughn was quite the cerebral point guard in his day. Considering everything that the Magic are losing I wouldn't be surprised to see the two play together frequently with JJ running some point which we have seen him do. He could end up playing the most minutes on the team alternating at the one and the two. (btw, Duhon could end up at the Lakers)

Ish Smith and Liggins aren't ready for prime-time. This leaves Afflalo, Redick, and Nelson as the primary ball handlers.

In what way wouldn't Afflalo start over Redick? Afflalo is a better-than-average shooter who can drive to the rim. He is a by far the better defensive player, which is saying something because Redick isn't so bad himself. Afflalo has started for a deep, deep Denver team for the last 3-4 years. Redick is a really good sixth man. Also, Afflalo is known for his cerebral style of play as well. Redick's only trump cards on Afflalo is that he's a marginally better 3pt shooter (41% vs 40%, but a worse FG shooter with 43% vs 47%) and he's a mainstay on this Orlando team in flux. However, given the severe lack of loyalty in the NBA (and given Orlando's state), I'm not sure that that one givens Redick an edge.

I want to see Redick get the hell out of Orlando. He deserves better.

[SupaDave]

Not worried about the "starter" designation - JJ will still get significant minutes. AND one of Afflalo's weakness IS his driving to the basket.

[CDu]

I can't say that Afflalo sends Redick to the bench. Redick should could back improved and new coach Vaughn will value his heady play. Vaughn was quite the cerebral point guard in his day. Considering everything that the Magic are losing I wouldn't be surprised to see the two play together frequently with JJ running some point which we have seen him do. He could end up playing the most minutes on the team alternating at the one and the two. (btw, Duhon could end up at the Lakers)

Ish Smith and Liggins aren't ready for prime-time. This leaves Afflalo, Redick, and Nelson as the primary ball handlers.

If Redick starts over Afflalo, I'll be shocked. Afflalo is slightly inferior from 3pt range but better at everything else. And I don't see Redick playing major minutes at PG. Redick will still get minutes, but he's almost certainly getting bumped to 6th man minutes. And I'll be shocked if his scoring average goes up to even 15ppg as a result of this move. He only averaged 11.8 ppg last year, and that was with defenses being concerned about Howard at all times. Now there's nobody in Orlando to force defenses out of position. So Redick's life just got more difficult, and the Magic have added a substantial threat to his playing time. If anything, I wouldn't be shocked if Redick's scoring went down.

I think Redick drops to ~25mpg next year (a bit down from last year) with Afflalo getting ~32mpg, Nelson getting ~32mpg, and everyone else getting ~6-8mpg. It's just not a situation where he's going to thrive.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Not worried about the "starter" designation - JJ will still get significant minutes. AND one of Afflalo's weakness IS his driving to the basket.

Sure, he isn't Dwayne Wade but he's much better at driving Redick. Redick rarely drove to the basket; it's a skill Redick never developed in the NBA but never needed to. A major, major issue with Redick's value to Orlando is his ability to play so damn well with Howard. Redick was a great inlet passer and passer of the pick-and-roll with Howard. Is he expected to do the same thing with Davis? I'd love to see that one. Afflalo is more versatile, especially to a team like Orlando that needs everything at this point in time. I don't think Redick will get a massive minute increase. Hell, he may even regress without Howard out there. I don't know, but I do know is that Redick is clearly wasting his talent in Orlando right now.

[MChambers]

Back to the original premise of this thread, even if JJ is the best player Orlando has (which is debatable), I don't think Orlando qualifies as a "franchise". The Magic now belong in the same discussion with the Washington and Charlotte franchises.

Hope JJ gets traded to a contender, where he could be a nice weapon off the bench.

[SupaDave]

Back to the original premise of this thread, even if JJ is the best player Orlando has (which is debatable), I don't think Orlando qualifies as a "franchise". The Magic now belong in the same discussion with the Washington and Charlotte franchises.

Hope JJ gets traded to a contender, where he could be a nice weapon off the bench.

Right. I was never concerned whether or not he was the best player on the team. In fact, it's usually the people on this board that have to eat crow about the minutes he's gonna play. Additionally, I'm pretty sure he can still run the pick and roll with Big Baby...

Without an experienced center, the Magic will have to run and gun even more in my opinion and this bodes well for JJ - who will likely be the best conditioned on the team.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Right. I was never concerned whether or not he was the best player on the team. In fact, it's usually the people on this board that have to eat crow about the minutes he's gonna play. Additionally, I'm pretty sure he can still run the pick and roll with Big Baby...

Without an experienced center, the Magic will have to run and gun even more in my opinion and this bodes well for JJ - who will likely be the best conditioned on the team.

I'm not worried about Redick executing the pick-and-roll - it's his partner! It takes two to tango, and the Redick / Howard pick-and-roll would have won countless dance competitions. Big Baby is both overrated, undersized, and not very mobile.

Also, one of Howard's strengths was his ability to run. For a guy his size, he was a gazelle out there. It's his post moves that were slightly underwhelming. I don't think that this team is built for running and gunning. It lacks everything minus 3pt shooting, and they got rid of 2 of their top 5 3pt shooters (Anderson and Richardson). I have no idea what their identity is, or how they are going to compete. No joke - there is a chance that they could be worse than the Bobcats were last year.

This team is so, so, so bad. I'd rather have Redick as a 6th, 7th, or 8th man on a contender than the 2nd or 3rd option on this team. In twitter fashion, smh...

[SupaDave]

I'm not worried about Redick executing the pick-and-roll - it's his partner! It takes two to tango, and the Redick / Howard pick-and-roll would have won countless dance competitions. Big Baby is both overrated, undersized, and not very mobile.

Also, one of Howard's strengths was his ability to run. For a guy his size, he was a gazelle out there. It's his post moves that were slightly underwhelming. I don't think that this team is built for running and gunning. It lacks everything minus 3pt shooting, and they got rid of 2 of their top 5 3pt shooters (Anderson and Richardson). I have no idea what their identity is, or how they are going to compete. No joke - there is a chance that they could be worse than the Bobcats were last year.

This team is so, so, so bad. I'd rather have Redick as a 6th, 7th, or 8th man on a contender than the 2nd or 3rd option on this team. In twitter fashion, smh...

Gonna have to agree there - they are gonna be bad. First year coach. No legit big man. And role players in starters roles. Looks like they are in the Shabazz Muhammed, Justin Anderson sweepstakes. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Mason Plumlee popped up in Orlando next year.

[fitimi1]

A couple of comments:

One of the reasons (IMO) for JJ's low scoring output is that he was almost never the go-to guy for points, but rather the 4th or 5th option. Many, many times when on the floor, particularly with Nelson, he was standing clear and alone in the corner and not only did not get the ball, was ignored by Nelson (explains why he was not closely guarded.) He was by far the best passer on the team and played the way the coach asked.

The statisticians on the board can provide the figures, but it always seemed that the team played better and with more energy with JJ in the lineup.

I would love to have him on my team.

[hq2]

I don't know if Aflalo will take all of JJ's minutes. He's 6-5, and can guard smaller threes, and is also a decent driver, so I'd say
he and J.J. may play some together out there, in maybe a 3 guard offense. I mean, Orlando is clearly going to be an offensively
challenged team next year, so they will need scoring wherever they can get it. In fact, I think for maybe one year or so, J.J. may
actually enjoy playing for a bad team. He may get more shots, and there won't be any real pressure to win; everyone knows they'll
be lousy anyway, so he can just go out there and blaze away without worrying about whether the team wins the game, which most
of the time they won't. He may have some fun with that for a while.

[jimsumner]

Gonna have to agree there - they are gonna be bad. First year coach. No legit big man. And role players in starters roles. Looks like they are in the Shabazz Muhammed, Justin Anderson sweepstakes. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Mason Plumlee popped up in Orlando next year.

Do you mean Kyle Anderson? Because if Justin Anderson is that good, Virginia is going to be mighty dangerous.

[Edouble]

After hearing of last night's trade it immediately occurred to me that the Magic have no other big names and at the same time JJ is the one player they've held on to. I haven't reviewed the roster but this move pretty much makes him the face of the franchise - no? Thoughts? What does this do for his career? His endorsements? Does he jump to 20ppg this year? This trade has a lot of reverberations....

Nelson has been one of the faces of the franchise for a little while, and will most likely be the face of the franchise for now. I don't see how Dwight Howard leaving the Magic helps Redick much.

[SupaDave]

Do you mean Kyle Anderson? Because if Justin Anderson is that good, Virginia is going to be mighty dangerous.

Correct Jim! Guess the first name never really mattered that much to me but definitely the UCLA one.

[SupaDave]

Nelson has been one of the faces of the franchise for a little while, and will most likely be the face of the franchise for now. I don't see how Dwight Howard leaving the Magic helps Redick much.

A quick perusal of their official site as of today features of course the Dwight news but also a picture of Nelson and Redick on the front page. A quick look at tickets - there's JJ. I agree that Nelson is A face of the franchise but I can't say that he's been significantly more prevalent than JJ.

Don't see how Howard leaving helps Redick? It's not liking Howard was setting picks for Redick to drive to the hole. Teams without big men shoot, and they shoot a lot.

http://www.nba.com/magic/