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On his The old man and the three On Wednesday podcast that he co-hosts, guard JJ Redick criticized New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin for not keeping his word.
Redick also expressed his strong desire to play for the Dallas Mavericks, although he admitted he was shocked to have been traded to the Mavs and would prefer to play somewhere closer to his wife and two young children, who reside in Brooklyn.
The Mavs acquired Nicolo Melli and Redick in a trade with the Pelicans last week for James Johnson, Wes Iwundu, a second-round draft pick and cash considerations. But even before the season started in December, Redick said he visited Griffin and asked for a trade, preferably a team from the Northeastern United States.
“Grif basically tells me, ‘Get off for a month, if you still want to be traded, I give you my word, I’m going to get you to a situation you like,'” Redick said. “We then had four conversations. Again my agent speaks to him, but I speak directly to Griff. This is how I wanted to handle it. Grif and I had a personal relationship.
“Obviously he did not keep his word. And again, that’s not a drawback for Dallas at all. I understand basically from February, once I wasn’t traded by the global February 2 deadline, I always understood that I was going to get a buyout. And if I was going to be traded, it would be to a team in the North East where I was closer to home and I could see my family for the last two or three months of the season. Obviously, this did not happen. Geographically speaking, of course, Dallas is further from New York than New Orleans. “
Redick described the Mavs’ situation as “really great” and he can’t wait to start working with his new team. He added that he had “immense respect” for owner Mark Cuban, coach Rick Carlisle and general manager and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and what they have built in Dallas. He also said he was delighted to play with “two other transcendent young players” in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
“I just got on the Pelicans with a bunch of these guys and now I have the chance to play with Luka and KP, and obviously they have a great bunch of guys like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleber , Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, they have a deep team, ”Redick said. “I just hope to add a little leadership, add a little shooting.”
Redick will meet with the Mavs in New York on Thursday and will also do a Zoom interview with the media after practice on Thursday. The Mavs will play the Knicks in New York on Friday – Redick plans to attend that game – but Redick will not play as he is still rehabilitating his sore right heel.
“Beyond that, I don’t really have a firm schedule (to play again) as I’m still rehabilitating my heel and Achilles from my injection,” Redick said. “I’ve been in the field for eight of the last nine days working, and I feel like I’m improving, but I’m probably a little far from playing.
Redick said he was in a Pilates class with his wife, Chelsea, when he found out he was traded to the Mavs.
“My wife recently got re-certified to teach Pilates while simultaneously getting her real estate license here in New York,” Redick said. “So Thursday I went to Pilates with her at 2pm and I had my phone by the side. We did some carpet work and around 2.30pm, 3, I looked at my phone, and there was nothing on my phone (regarding an exchange), and I thought, ‘Oh , I am in the clear here. ‘”
From there Redick said he went to stretch and: “Chelsea picked up her phone and she said, ‘Why do I have three missed calls from your agent?’ So I looked at my phone and got three missed calls from my agent, I got a bunch of people texting me and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on? ‘ “
It was then that Redick called his agent to find out what was going on and found out he had been traded to the Mavs.
“I was shocked, I was stunned,” said Redick, who signed a $ 26.5 million free agent deal with the Pelicans in 2019. “I didn’t expect that time to be exchanged. And again, it’s not something light on the Dallas Mavericks, but the Dallas Mavericks weren’t one of the teams – at any time and at any time – that we had discussed, so I was just a little bit shocked by this.
“I called Mark after and what I said to Mark was – Cuban, of course – every other year I’d love to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks. It’s one of the top organizations, I think Rick is one of the best coaches, and like we just said, the opportunity to play with a guy like Luka and Kristaps – I walked through the line with all their guys. They have a great team. So it’s just a little shocking.
It was “just a little shocking” for Redick, he said, because he said his son had started kindergarten in Brooklyn in September and at that time he had no idea what to do with it. start of the 2020-21 NBA season. And when the NBA announced the season would begin on Christmas Day, Redick said he visited Griffin in November and requested a trade from a team from the Northeast.
“The NBA kind of threw this, ‘We start on Christmas Day,’” Redick said. “And simultaneously with that announcement, the Pelicans traded Jrue Holiday. Jrue is the reason I went to New Orleans. As much as I was excited to play with Zion (Williamson), I was also excited about the young guys they had just received from the Lakers, and frankly, the deal was the best deal I was offered in free agency. , the real excitement. for me it was playing with Jrue.
“If I buy out and go to Brooklyn, I just wanted to be able – on a day off – to go see my family and be some distance in the car. That was the whole point. “
But that didn’t happen and it left Redick with a bitter taste in his mouth. He also had something else to say about the pelicans.
“I don’t think you’ll get the honesty from this front office, but objectively speaking,” Redick said. “I also don’t think what happened to me was necessarily an isolated incident. But I think across the league, the front offices, they’re acting in their own best interests. I understand that. I understand that.
“I honestly think – and it’s hard for me to admit it – but I think I was a little naive thinking this because I was in 15th grade (in the NBA) and had at least tried to doing things right throughout my career and I’ve honored my end of the bargain, but as far as this front office goes, yes, it’s not something I would certainly expect agents who have worked on this with me trust this front office again.
Redick, 36, then pledged allegiance to the Mavs.
“Again, I just want to repeat, however, this is in no way a reflection of my feelings towards Dallas and the Dallas Mavericks,” he said. “It’s a good basketball situation, and for someone who hasn’t played basketball in over three weeks, I’m just excited to get healthy and be back on the court and playing with these guys in Dallas. ”
Briefly: Coach Rick Carlisle has said the Mavs have no schedule for the return of center Willie Cauley-Stein and rookie guard Tyrell Terry. Cauley-Stein is sidelined due to NBA health and safety protocols, and Terry is out for personal reasons. “We’ll keep you posted as we update,” Carlisle said. “Tyrell came out with a personal situation and Willie is in the protocols. We’ll let you know when we know something. Other than that, there isn’t much we can talk about. “. .FOX Sports Southwest was renamed Bally Sports Southwest on Wednesday, and the Mavs subsequently announced changes to their local television program. The Mavs will have five upcoming games televised on Bally Sports Southwest Plus. They include home games on Monday against Utah and April 16 against New York, and road games in Memphis on April 14, Sacramento on April 26 and Cleveland on May 9. Additionally, TXA 21 will air two Mavs games – April 29 in Detroit and May 1 at the American Airlines Center against Washington.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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