JJ Reddick return to Philly? (2/2/21)
Recent news came out that the Pelicans are shopping 36 year old sharpshooter JJ Reddick. The Nets, Celtics, and 76ers are the three teams that Reddick would like to be traded to because of the home him and his family own in Brooklyn. I’m all for Reddick coming back to Philly, and here’s why.
Would provide extra shooting off the bench
The Sixers already have a good amount of shooters in the starting lineup, but the bench lacks it. Outside of Furkan Korkmaz, they don’t have any above average shooters. Adding Reddick would drastically improve the team’s bench depth and scoring from beyond the arc.
Embiid’s sidekick
During Reddick’s two seasons here in Philly, him and Embiid formed a dynamic duo. They had great chemistry together. The both of them were unstoppable in the pick-and-roll action. Embiid set perfect screens in order to give Reddick plenty of space to shoot the ball, and Reddick benefitted Embiid by spacing out the floor and letting him do the dirty work in the paint.
Experience playing for Doc Rivers
Reddick played for the LA Clippers from 2013–2017 under current 76ers head coach Doc Rivers. JJ reuniting with Doc would make life easier for the both of them because of their familiarity with one another from LA. JJ thrived in Doc Rivers’ system, as 3 out of the 4 seasons that he played for Doc he shot over 40% from deep and averaged 15 points or more in all of the four seasons that he was there.
Leadership Role
Trading for Reddick would give the Sixers another veteran presence alongside Danny Green, Dwight Howard, and Tobias Harris. No such thing as having to many veterans on a team. Back in June, Reddick was one of the few players on the Pelicans who was in charge of the team’s Social Justice Leadership Coalition.
Avenging a past mistake
The front office screwed up big time last year by letting Reddick walk in free agency. Without Reddick, the Sixers had nobody in the starting lineup who can space out the floor and shoot the ball at an above average clip. With the Pelicans currently shopping him, Daryl Morey has a big chance to try and avenge their past mistake.
