Can be contributed to the refs as well as their lack of a defensive stopper on Wake’s point guard. I find it a little out of the ordinary that the entire starting lineup for Duke fouled out. Yeah, thats not too odd……
More than a year and a half into his NBA career, J.J. Redick looks like another wasted first-round draft pick.
Magic general manager Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy insist otherwise.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of him not being able to play,” Smith said. “I know Stan has said it, and I’ve said it ,and I’m sure J.J. is saying the same thing, that he’s capable of playing in this league, and capable of playing on this team. We just have to create spot for him.”
Van Gundy is almost profuse in his praise of Redick’s ability and practice habits, but the kid hasn’t even gotten off the bench in 12 of the last 14 games.
Redick has let the Magic know that he hears the clock ticking and wants to play somewhere. He would rather be traded than sit through another season like this. Until Wednesday’s trading deadline passes, the possibility cannot be dismissed that Smith and Van Gundy are posturing. Redick is only 23 and everybody knows he can shoot and score in bunches. Surely he has some value around the NBA.
But there are three good reasons why the Magic don’t want to give up on Redick yet - Maurice Evans, Keyon Dooling and Carlos Arroyo. All of their contracts are expiring. Theoretically, Redick and Jameer Nelson could be the only guards left on the Magic roster come July 1.
Redick is an insurance policy.
“It’s fair and it’s unfair,” Smith said. ” A lot of people come into this league and sit for the first one, two, three, seven or eight years and then all of a sudden they play and it’s like: ‘Where have they been?’
“He has to wait his turn. I sat on Doug Moe’s bench for a little while. It didn’t hurt me. I was like J.J. I just kept working my butt off, and I honestly believed an opportunity would present itself, and that’s exactly what happened. Somebody went down, I ended up playing.”
If the Magic get knocked out by an offer for Redick in the next few days, they will probably take it. But that isn’t likely to happen, and Smith seems disinclined to make a trade anyway. His team stands third in the East and is positioned to win a playoff series for the first time in 12 years.
“I like our team. I like where we are and I like the direction we’re going, in spite of the fact that we’ve lost a few games here lately,” Smith said. “We’re in the top five or six in every offensive category; offense is not the problem.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that J.J.’s going to be a player in this league, and fairly soon. With that said, all of us have to be patient, including J.J.”
[Dick Scanlon can be reached at dick.scanlon@theledger.com or at 863-802-7554. ]