The Dallas Mavericks needed more shots, so they switched to one of the best snipers in the NBA. JJ Redick will now be lurking around the perimeter for the Mavericks as they fight for the advantage of playing at home in the playoffs. The acquisition of Redick was a low-cost solution that improved the squad this year, maintaining flexibility for the off-season.
Redick burst onto the national scene as a freshman at Duke University, when he scored 30 points in the ACC championship game. He quickly established himself as one of the greatest snipers in the history of college basketball (and one of his greatest jumps). Redick is the third of all time on 3 points made in NCAA history, and is Duke’s all-time top scorer. At one point during his college career, he broke the NCAA record in 54 consecutive free throws.
Orlando Magic selected Redick with 11º choose in the 2006 draft, although some questioned whether he would be able to remain in the NBA due to his potential defensive deficiencies. Redick, however, seemed to understand exactly what his role in the NBA would be. “I think I’ll be an actor like 80% of the league’s players are,” he told Charlotte Observer in 2005. “I don’t expect to be a star, I’m just going to shoot, be a team player.” That’s what he did for fourteen years .
Redick played sparingly in his first two seasons in Orlando, but finally stood out in 2008-09, becoming a key part of a team that made it to the NBA finals. The lineup was built around Dwight Howard in the center and the 3-point lethal shot around him. Redick fit perfectly. Magic lost to the Lakers in the finals, but Redick hit 40% behind the hoop. A few years later, Redick was dispatched to Milwaukee as part of a deal that included Tobias Harris going to Orlando.
Redick joined the Clippers as a free agent (although technically he was part of a three-team negotiation and signing contract) in 2013 and became a big part of the Lob City run there. Redick played the best basketball of his career in LA, scoring almost 16 points per game and shooting 44% on three during his four years there. In 2017, he signed a two-year contract with the 76ers and had some playoff disputes there.
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Surprising everyone at the time, Redick found his way to New Orleans in 2019 as a free agent, signing a two-year contract with the Pelicans. When they missed the playoffs last year, it was the first time Redick missed the postseason in his 13-year career.
Redick must feel at home in Dallas. The Mavericks are fifth in the NBA in 3-point attempts, and Donnie Nelson did not make this deal for Redick to play defense. He will be allowed to hoist as much as 3 points as he can. Redick is shooting 36% from the depths, his lowest percentage since 2012-13, but playing with Luka Doncic should help tremendously. Spacing in New Orleans has been bad all year round as they try to find the most effective lineups around Zion Williamson.
Luka Doncic must create many opportunities for Redick on the perimeter. Redick kicks 47% with 3 open points, which the NBA defines as a shot made when a defender is more than two meters away from the shooter. This is a better shot percentage on open shots than any of the players that the Mavericks now use. This is not surprising considering Dorian Finney-Smith or Josh Richardson, who have struggled to shoot all year. But it’s better than more consistent snipers like Maxi Kleber and Tim Hardaway Jr.
Redick is shooting almost 40% at 3 points to catch and shoot. He will have a steady diet of these attempts with the defense focusing on Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. The Mavericks are shooting only 37% on footprints and shooting 3 points, 15º in the NBA. Redick should help them convert more of those shots, although he is not at Kleber’s level (almost 48%). With only the reputation of being a sniper alone, Redick should open the interior for the Mavericks in the attack. The defenses will not fall from him the way they would with Richardson or Finney-Smith.
There will be problems in the defense, for sure. The Mavericks will have to invent ways to hide it from bad snipers, and there may be clashes in which Redick will have a hard time getting minutes. And there is the question of your current heel injury. But in general, it should help the Mavericks. James Johnson and Wes Iwundu were not playing, and Redick brings a skill that Dallas desperately needs. He won’t change his fate in the playoffs on his own, but the Mavericks are a better team going forward with the addition of Redick.