Dallas Mavericks: JJ Redick is going to play a key role in 2021

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and the Dallas Mavericks made their first trade in almost two years. The Mavs acquired shooter J.J. Redick and power forward Nicolo Melli. In return, the New Orleans Pelicans obtained James Johnson, Wes Iwundu, and a second round pick.

With the Mavericks already stacked with guards on the bench, what sort of role will Redick play on the team?  How much can the veteran guard contribute?

When first looking at the trade, Redick will more than likely come off the bench for Dallas. Having a bench of Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway and Redick, the Mavs will be loaded with heavy hitting shooters.

J.J. Redick is going to play a key role on the Dallas Mavericks this season

Currently the new Mav is shooting 40.7 percent from the field this season. Behind the arc however, he is hitting 36.4 percent of his shots. Don’t be fooled though, Redick had a slow start to the season. In the month of February he averaged 46.8 percent from the three-point line. While he has not played a lot of games in the month of March, he is shooting at a very high rate.

Pairing J.J.Redick with the current bench will do wonders for the Mavericks rotation. Just look at the numbers Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson are putting up. In the last 10 games Hardaway Jr. hit 40 percent of his shots from the three and Brunson is shot 39.8 from the arc. Having quality players such as these big three will allow Dallas to score an ample amount of points from the bench.

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Having to share minutes with other role players such as Trey Burke and Dwight Powell will be another stone to overcome. The former Pelican averaged 20 minutes in New Orleans and will more than likely produce the same in Dallas.  Redick will likely average  around 15-20 minutes a game with the Mavericks. Assuming he is healthy and pairs well with Luka Doncic, I can see his minutes increasing to 25-30 minutes.

One concern will be his lack of playing time in March. The last time Redick suited for the Pelicans was back on March 3rd. In that game he played 22 minutes, went three for three from the free-throw line and shot nine for 19 from the arc. To put in simple terms: the veteran guard can still put up quality numbers and his lack of playing time was most likely due to his team wanting to trade him.

As far as forward Melli is concerned it is still unknown whether Dallas will keep the forward. If the Mavs decide to keep him, it will add an extra shooter to the team. For his career, Melli is averaging 39.5 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from the arc.

Whatever the team decides, one thing is for certain, the Mavericks’ bench just improved sharply. If Dallas plays their cards right, the team could be back on track as the one of highest scoring offenses in the league.

• Published on 03/26/2021 at 12:01 PM
• Last updated at 03/26/2021 at 09:02 AM