Former Pelicans guard J.J. Redick asked New Orleans’ front office for a trade back in November around the time the team dealt Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee, Redick said today on the latest episode of his Old Man and the Three podcast (video link).
As Redick explains, the opportunity to play with Holiday was one of the main reasons he initially signed with the Pelicans in 2019. Holiday’s departure – and an expectation that his own playing time would be cut back under Stan Van Gundy – played a part in Redick’s decision to ask for a trade. The distance from his family in Brooklyn was also a major factor, since various league and local COVID-19 protocols prevented him from getting many opportunities to see them.
Redick, now with the Mavericks, said he had “transparent” conversations with Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin and GM Trajan Langdon and felt as if they had reached an understanding.
“Griff basically says to me, ‘Come down for a month. If you still want to be traded, I give you my word, I’ll get you to a situation that you like,'” said Redick, who added that he had four conversations directly with Griffin after that point. “… Obviously he did not honor his word.”
Redick made it clear that his comments aren’t intended as a slight toward Dallas. He said he’s looking forward to bringing leadership and shooting to Dallasand playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, adding that he told team owner Mark Cuban, “In any other year, I’d be thrilled to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks.” However, the Mavs weren’t one of the teams that Redick and the Pelicans had discussed as a potential landing spot.
According to Redick, he thought that if he wasn’t going to be traded by the “aggregate deadline” of February 2 (the last day a player could be traded and still have his salary aggregated in a second trade at the deadline), he was headed for a buyout agreement with New Orleans. That would allow him to sign with any team, and he suggested he would have considered a handful of teams in the northeast.
“(My understanding was) if I was going to be traded, it was going to be a team in the northeast where I was closer to home and I’d be able to see my family for the last two or three months of the season,” Redick said. “Obviously that didn’t happen.
“… I look at the buyout situation not as me just specifically being like, ‘Oh, I’m going to get bought out and go to Brooklyn,'” he added. “I just wanted to be able, on an off day, to go see my family and to be within sort of driving distance. … Geographically, you can sort of think of the teams where that’s the case.”
Although Redick said he had an “amazing” year-and-a-half with the Pelicans, he admitted that the way the relationship ended was far from ideal.
“I don’t think you’re going to get honesty from that front office. Just objectively speaking — that’s not an opinion, I just don’t think you’re going to get that,” Redick said. “I don’t think what happened with me is necessarily an isolated incident either. I do think across the league, front offices, they act in their own best interest. I get that, I understand that.
“Truthfully, and it’s hard for me to admit this, but I think I was a little naive in thinking that because I was in year 15 and I had at least attempted to do things right throughout my career and I honored my end of the bargain (that the Pelicans would reciprocate)… but in terms of this front office, it’s not something where I would expect certainly the agents who worked on this with me to ever trust that front office again.”
Redick will speak to reporters in a Zoom press conference on Thursday and expects to be with the Mavs on Friday, though he said he’s still rehabbing his heel issue and is likely “a little ways away” from returning to the court.
Breaking “NBA Team Acts in Own Bext Interest”
BREAKING: telling a player “If you still want to be traded, I give you my word, I’ll get you to a situation that you like” and then not doing so is bad for business.
Dont give a player your word and then not deliver on what you promised.
BREAKING: JJ Redick wanted to go to Brooklyn even more than we thought
Traded to a situation that you like.. that doesn’t mean we will trade you to nets.. mavs are a good spot and he’ll like playing in playoffs.. if he wanted geography, maybe he shouldn’t of taken the biggest offer from
Pelicans and just stayed with sixers.
I mean, maybe you’re right. But it’s ridiculous to be surprised about it.
The teams that he wanted to go to,wanted him for nothing.
Dallas was willing to give something up.
Passing on assets to get a player to a specific destination would’ve been bad for business.
Yeah a Front Office wouldn’t actually lie or go back on their word. Not like this is Rockets Morey dealing with player Harden. Honestly he’s under contract. So toughen up JJ only 3 more months.
Sure. If that’s the reputation you want, lie about everything and see where that gets you.
Ok then, which teams are the “honest’ ones? Is there a list?
That’s a good question – wouldn’t mind seeing a piece from Luke Adams on that topic if he gets the chance…
I think that’s part of the value of the buy-out market for teams buying-out; it gives them a chance to show that they’ll make a deal to accommodate a player.
Off the top of my head, last year the Bucks said they were going to take some swings, and so they did. Houston, on the other hand, told everyone that everybody was staying and they were going to contend when the situation was painfully obvious to all, except one HR regular…
Guaranteed money and years do the most talking, and some teams are stupid, and plans change. But I’m sure players think about it when they have the luxury.
When they have the luxury is an important caveat. I’d say 75-80% of players are not thinking about the level of accommodation they’re going to get from a FO when signing somewhere.
Guys want to get paid or they want to win. Then maybe the system or coach or players take the lead. Finally, a lot of guys just need to stay in the league, period.
The idea that the GM plays a significant role in where a guy signs is, to me, a myth of the agent. With the exception of the top 10-15 guys, but those guys – if they really wanted to go to NO, could go there ask for the GM to be fired and the owner would do it, so even then it’s a non-issue.
Fool there aint honest teams just owners that LIE 2 u n every1
No Curtis I do not have a list of honest GMs, but BB is not my job. If it was, I might be more careful, probably talk, and yes, have a list of the DIShonest.
It depends if a promise was made to get him to sign.
I am surprised by some of these responses.
Cavs fan. I said when Griffin was hired, and posters kept calling him brilliant, I did not disagee BUT said he was all too clever, hopefully implying he will lie for gain. Well some apparently call that okay.
You miss the point. None of them are “honest” They aren’t in the business of being honest. They are in the business of making money.
Curtis you can make money honestly… have you ever thought ’bout that?
I love Redick but cry me a river. You’re getting paid millions to shoot a basketball. Sorry the business acted in the best interest of the business. It’s this mindset of “I only want to play with x team or x player” that has destroyed the parity in the NBA and has made it the worst product in sports.
Of course, owners routinely lying to their players has done a GREAT deal to improve professional sports. Yup, yup.
Damn that’s kinda rough. Sorry JJ, I’ve loved you since your Duke days
He can always retire and stop crying poor millionaire’s
it probably stings a little more since fellow blue devil trajan langdon didn’t help have his back.
This aint about love fool it about basketball hoopin
Derp
Nobody said it was about love faker
Maybe those teams didnt want to trade for you/didnt have salary to send out, like a Boston or Philly or even the Knicks? All of them could theoretically have used the shooting at that position. This isnt the 1st time this dude has complained about something like this…maybe you should have asked for a buyout originally, and given up half that contract, and it would have happened
I’ve been a fan for a long time, but maybe have some kind of awareness?
JJ Reddick really thinks he can make demands…yea igh!!
I agree he acts like he deserves to be sent where he chooses. Unfortunately, the team will do what’s in there best interest. No one told you to sign with pelicans central/Midwest away from your family. You cashed out and expected to be bought by pelicans meaning they pay the rest of contract so can play elsewhere instead they offloaded you to a contender while recieving assets, seems like a no brainer for pelicans. Not a fan of reddick, especially with his new podcast (too much talking from him and too opinionated)
When he signed that deal, I bet he wasn’t expecting a pandemic to occur.
NOT a demand. An alleged promise is the story. READ THE ARTICLE lefty and disagree or not, no demand was made.
I don’t think his gripe is that the team did the best deal for them (basically a second and getting off 4 mil for Meli next year.) I think his beef is, if that was going to be the case, don’t tell him for 3-4 months that you are going to accommodate his desire to be close to his family, and not do it. Maybe there was no market, but I doubt that teams scoffed at a single second round pick. Knicks could have absorbed him into their cap space. 76ers could have gotten there with Scott plus about 2.5 mil. Celtics with Thompson and/or part of Hayward trade exception. Bad situation for him this year, bunch of young guards plus Bledsoe, just no minutes for him. JJ will have a playoff game where he hits 3 3s in the fourth quarter this year.
His play this year didn’t help his value — if Redick is shooting under 40% from 3 his value to a team is pretty minimal
I feel like an implicit part of that “deal” may have been do the one thing (hit 3’s at a high rate) we’re paying you to do.
Redick wasn’t doing that this year which in turn made it more difficult for Griffin to hold up his end of the bargain
To play devil’s advocate he really didn’t get a lot of playing time to come into form, and it also sounds like the team in general didn’t get a lot of practice time.
That said I’m basing this off quotes from Van Gundy so take it with high sodium.
Lol. He signed the contract. Honor it
Muahahaha
He won’t help the Mavs any more than he did the Pelicans.
The key by phrase there is
“A situation you will like”
Griffin never said he would ship him to the north east
It’s a business at the end of the day. What’s does anyone expect?
He chose New Orleans when he was a free agent I assume because of the money. He could have signed near his family then and I remember being surprised he didn’t. Quit whining now that the team put their interests first.
100 percent agree
I would feel bad but the $13M you are receiving this year is well above your production level
I think the real reason he is salty is because he was expecting to go to Brooklyn and finally win a chip, and instead he is going to Dallas (where it could happen but the odds are lower).
My 2 cents
Yup. I read that whole statement as, “I REALLY wanted to playing in Brooklyn (more than you guys even thought), and I’m mad that now I can’t.”
Complete fabrication.
The fact of having an offyear (if not declining) is not proof of lying.
If anyone is disappointing, it is Griffin’s Pels and the weird decisions he has been making. No genius.
exactly..these players sign to a bad team for big money and then want to move to a contender by trade deadline..NBA needs to fix it.. it gives contenders more weapons for cheap while small markets waste money and time
Redick would have more of a point here if he was playing up to par. Also, Dallas seems like a pretty good situation for him, but what do I know?
But when you’re a 36 year old 3 point specialist barely shooting league average from 3, well I’m not sure what Griffin was supposed to do exactly?
Redick was just unfortunate in that he was a little too good to buy out, but not quite good enough that Griffin had a lot of options to move him anywhere he wanted
If Redick was no longer valuable, he would be easier to move on.
How does being good/bad make his point better? How good is anyone here?
You think Melli is a gem?
Did not have to be the Nets.
Being good/bad has a material effect on Griffin’s ability to move him, I don’t think that’s a point you can even argue
If JJ was shooting 45% from 3 you don’t think Brooklyn, Philly, and Boston would be *more* likely to give up assets for him this season? Yet I heard diddly squat about any of those teams inquiring about him.
Sure it’s possible that Griffin had a great deal on the table from one of those teams but just chose to be a d*ck and send JJ to Dallas. But I think you have to be a little skeptical that Griffin would choose to hurt his own team just to spite JJ Redick for reasons unknown. But, sure, it’s possible.
Frankly, I don’t think anyone was pursuing him. The rumor mill close to the deadline was that he was going to probably be bought out. Which is probably what he expected. Then Dallas came with a lowball offer and Griffin did what was best for his team – not lose a guy for nothing when an ok offer was on the table.
Which reinforces my point above. JJ’s minimal value worked to his disadvantage. His minimal
value was at least partially attributable to his play this year. Maybe there was a rumor I missed where Brooklyn or Boston was seriously pursuing him, but it seems to me like the market was dead, save for Dallas.
The worse a player is, the easier it is to move him. It’s the stars that are hard to trade.
IDK what interest there was from NE teams. This info would matter. Of course the claim by Redick is also hard to prove unless Griffin agrees. He was likely naive, but his story explains things, and Griffin had too much lustre.
Didn’t have to be the Nets,but from the Pelicans perspective,better to send him to a team taking his salary and giving something back,than it would’ve been to get nothing in return,and pay his salary,minus the minimum the new team would’ve saved them after the buyout/signing.
And he played for New Orleans for 1 year,they really don’t have any real reason to do anything special for Jj Redick.
An aside, but I had no idea that Trajan Landon was the Pelicans GM. I don’t think I’ve seen that name in 15 years.
Same here. In fact it makes me feel old knowing who Trajan Langdon is.
These damn players now think they can ask for ridiculous money and also get their way if they dont “like it” anymore. Team Owners need to stop catering
No Offence JJ… but you signed a near 30 mill contract to play 1500 miles away from your kid LONG before the pandemic hit… you had plenty of time to move your family closer to you while playing for the team you chose to sign with. The fact you didn’t… then asked to be traded to a place you could have signed with previously… was selfish. I’m one of the last people to defend “the man”…. but its not like he’s someone like Duncan Robinson out playing his contract by miles… he’s over paid (severely)…. and is complaining he couldn’t be overpaid where he wanted to be? Come on man. Grow up. Your son will never know life struggle because of the few months you have to play basketball… 99.99999% of planet earth would kill to trade places with you.
Either we view players as actual people or just commodities. Certain people get blasted when they say players should just “shut up and dribble” when they pipe up about social issues, but heaven forbid this guy calls out the dishonesty of a front office and reiterates his desire to get closer to his family during a pandemic if his team chooses to trade him. My personal opinion is that JJ should’ve prioritized coming back to Philly instead of chasing the money NO offered.
Just my 2 cents.
They are people.. and people make choices. JJ CHOSE to sign with a team… he CHOSE the location he would play in… these were life choices he made. To complain his family is 1500 miles away is just flat out selfish. If he wanted to live close to them he should have signed with the Nets when they didn’t have Durant or Kyrie… he could have been a Knick anytime he wanted… the 76ers wanted him back.. he didn’t like their offer. These are choices people make.
Indeed. His comments seem to lack maturity. Does he also think that he should be held to his word as represented by the contract he signed? Don’t like it, give up the money and see if any team closer to home wants to sign you. This is kind of the definition of privileged entitlement.
Its less than 90 days in all likelihood …… Its hard for this story to touch my heart …
Lets see if he sacrifices some dough on his end when the time comes , what’s he made over 100 mill in his career? If he signs for over vet min next time I’ll remember this article
Jimmy Butler said he knows drug dealers more loyal than the bulls management. Kings management lied to Cousins, clippers lied to Griffin,celtics mishandled I.T etc. NBA execs are the biggest liars around.
I.T. mishandled the situation in Boston,not the other way around.
I’m sure it had more to do with getting a ring then being closer to his family don’t get me wrong I’m sure family was important but if they traded him to one of the LA teams he wouldn’t of said anything
It’s hard to believe that a guy who’s been around the league as long as JJ could put this out there with a straight face. When you have young children, it’s important not to act like one.
If Griffin actually “promised” that he’d trade JJ to get to a team JJ liked (even if no such team wanted him) then any adult would understand his promise could only be to try, to work with him, etc. Griffin can’t make a team take him. Not to mention that JJ has a contract that he declined to opt out of, and Griffin has a contract too (which obligates him to pursue the Pels best interests). If being with his young family in Brooklyn was so important, then why didn’t he opt out. If not doing so was a mistake he later realized, then why didn’t he at least offer up the buyout equivalent (forego the rest of his salary upon his release) since his contract was expiring. Why not extract a promise that’s within the control of the promisor to keep. It’s really not that hard.
You talk like you know, but there was guessing. Did he offer a discounted buyout or not?
Is it okay for a GM to lie or not? Courts have ruled cops can lie. Griffin is on the list too?
I just dont see how it’s a lie.
Was it a lie? That can mean different things to different people, I guess, but, for most, it requires intentional misleading.
Do you believe Griffin really thought he was misleading Redick into thinking that Griffin, upon Redick’s say so, could/would make a trade to a team acceptable to Redick happen – even if there was no market for Redick among such teams? – even if the trade was bad for the Pels’ organization (a violation of his employment agreement)? If so, he lied. If not, he didn’t.
I don’t think Griffin lied. But on the general GM question. It’s generally OK (legally) for a contract party to lie to another contract party to induce the latter to fulfill an existing contract obligation. So, applying that here, a GM shouldn’t lie to get a guy to sign a deal, but its OK to lie to get a guy to live up to a deal he already signed.
If we’re to believe Griffin intentionally went back on his word (he lied), then I think someone – JJ, Shams, Woj – needs to make public *who* in the Northeast made a serious offer to Griffin for Redick’s services.
What I ultimately take umbrage with in JJ”s account, at least as it’s quoted above, is that he’s making a direct accusation of treacherous behavior, but speaking indirectly of the specifics.
Did Griffin explicitly say he would buy Redick out if he didn’t trade him? Was there an offer on the table Griffin chose to not accept?
Or was there a tacit agreement that Griffin would try to move Redick to the Northeast during the season, but nothing materialized on that front, and at the deadline the only offer was to Dallas?
And now JJ is putting the blame on Griffin (in public) for something that, ultimately, wasn’t entirely under his control?
Its for the best interest of the team, that is always the case!!
How soft are these players today? So out of touch with reality and the average fan. Boohoo he can’t see his family for a few months out of the year while his monthly salary is more than most will make in a decade. Retire then, overrated spoiled brat
Lol who hurt you?
Why does this sound like he wanted to join the superteam Nets but will only say it’s because of being close to his kids? I don’t doubt that a primary reason, but c’mon JJ, you wanted to join a superteam admit it
It sounds like you didn’t read about the fam in a non-basketball article.
Most have not and should need to. Redick’s point was pretty small and one-off but doomed to get blown up.
I have no idea what you’re trying to say but it wasn’t a small point so I don’t really understand why it wouldn’t get blown up
TBH I forgot the name of the magazine. It held up NY society and identified the Redicks as society. Not high society; a church was involved. News that Redick signed in NO suggested to me he was getting away intentionally, but that is being nosy and assuming… not something to get blown up for pity sake… he got exposed enough without warrant. He may not care anymore, is just pissed at Griffin.
I’m guessing but I don’t get all the antiplayer sentiment here. There’s no legal action. Why prefer secrecy? I want to read stuff and that requires things go public. I have no complaints against things going public. I’m in the public!
Griffin issued a big FU when he sent Dukie to Dallas, just about the opposite of NYC. (Melli is his plan?) It makes the whole concept of trading look bad. Only legal for sports.
The assumption is, and usually the reality, that the player is better off with the team that wants him most. That’s the defense of what clearly is normally a violation of civil rights, even the 14th against human ownership. Legal fans will say it’s the contract being shifted, not the human, but that would not last a challenge. Sports also get a pass in the area of monopolies.
But Griffin has to run his team how he wants? Gets to ignore a promise made to get a contract signed?
Well nobody liked Redick in NOLA anyway. Never made sense.
I dont understand. Whatever happens, he got paid like 13 million dollar a year. I mean, 13 million dollar!
Then he complaining about how to live far away with his family while getting that crazy amount of money..
He chose to get the largest offer, and at his age, he should be realized that he should NOT have his hope high that everything will go as he planned.
Imagine if you a basketball GM, a player join you only because you give the biggest amount of offer, and the next season asked to be traded to his preferred team LOL
I really lost my respect for him. while he should be a mentor to young team, instead he become a toxic veteran for the team.
Why would you think a player joins a team, only money, all teams suck so what else is their to separate them?
Teams are concepts, not important, like at all!
People & players are important, that is why fans pay to watch players, not teams!
BTW no one can expect better from Pels… I mean the way they treated AD is one of the biggest shames in sports history, go figure why any player would ever sign for them, right?
Go JJ, you are a hero for being honest, wish more folks were like you!