Dallas Mavericks acquire JJ Redick, Nicolo Melli in trade with New Orleans Pelicans

In fact, the Dallas Mavericks were silent as the NBA trade deadline approached – so they weren’t. In line with the New Orleans Pelicans, the Mavericks are catching up with former sharp JJ Redick and second-year Nicolo Melli big man Shams Charania of the Athletic reports.

As a reward, Dallas sends veteran James Johnson, Wes Iwundu and a second-round pick to New Orleans. Basically, the Mavericks are threatened with three points and two contracts coming to an end while dealing with two who were mostly out of circulation.

Redick, 36, is at the heart of the trade. Since Stan Van Gundy took over the top coaches associated with the Pelicans this season, Redick has been showing dissatisfaction with his role on the team and his play was a reflection of that. As early as February, reports surfaced that he had called for a trade. Now, the 15-year-old veteran, who was drafted eleventh in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, joins a team with much more playoff ability.

Throughout his career, Redick carved out a valuable place on every team he played for as a strong threat outside of scoring. He is a 41.5% career three-point hunter, but his average has kept going up as his career has progressed. Since joining the Pelicans in 2019, he has averaged 13 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 43% overall and 46.1% from depth in 91 full regular season games.

Three-point shooting is something the Mavericks desperately need, especially when it comes to consistency. From trading away Seth Curry to the Philadelphia 76ers in the off-season for Josh Richardson, Dallas has struggled to regain the same outside-shooting shot he had the former. last season, when he set the NBA record for most effective offense ever.

However, the Mavericks have been moving in the right direction lately. Since the All-Star break, Dallas is shooting 38.9% from depth, the eighth best mark in the league during that expansion. With Redick, it is assumed that the outdoor firing percentage will not improve. Mavericks fans have to salt when Redick thinks around the edge of how Luka Doncic works over defense. The emphasis Redick’s three-point shot puts along with a skillful look and a Doncic court should help Dallas ’offense thrive.

As for Melli, the 30-year-old Italian native has not seen much playing time in his half-season in the NBA, appearing in 82 total games. This season, he averages two points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11 minutes per game while shooting 25.4% off the floor.

To accept $ 13 million for Redick and $ 3.9 million at Melli, the Mavericks had to enter Johnson into the deal. Johnson, like Redick and Melli, is in the final season of his current contract, which is worth $ 15.8 million. Iwundu signed a $ 3.5 million two-year contract with the Mavericks in 2020.

Neither Johnson nor Iwundu were staples of the Dallas movement. Johnson appeared in 29 games this season and averaged 5.7 points, three rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 46.2% overall. Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle recently described Johnson as one of the team’s “spiritual leaders”. Iwundu saw even less activity with Dallas. In 23 games, he averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting just 32.7% on field goals.

In the end, Dallas looks like an improved team in the ever-challenging Western Conference. Redick ‘s outside shooting is very optimistic and his expiring contracts are giving the Mavericks more financial flexibility in the coming season. The Mavericks were complaining that they wouldn’t make any substantial trades at the date this week, but even with this one move, they seem to be a better team than they were before.