According to a recently published list of recommended trade targets for the 2020 offseason, New Orleans Pelicans guard J.J. Redick could turn out to be the ideal acquisition for the Los Angeles Lakers .
In a report published on Wednesday morning, Bleacher Report wrote that the Lakers still have “a lot of room for improvement,” particularly in their outside shooting. During regular-season play, they ranked 21st out of 30 teams, with a 34.9 percent clip from beyond the arc, and were second-to-last in the playoffs, with that figure dropping to 33.1 percent.
Explaining why he believes Redick could potentially be a great addition to the Lakers, the outlet’s Greg Swartz wrote that the 36-year-old can “solve a lot of shooting woes by himself,” despite his status as a grizzled veteran. During the 2019-20 regular season, the Pelicans guard connected on 45.3 percent of his three-point attempts, placing him second in the league. Additionally, he registered a 47.2 percent clip on catch-and-shoot threes — according to Swartz, this figure just might increase if he gets a chance to play alongside LeBron James in Los Angeles.
“After picking up Dion Waiters and JR Smith from the bargain bin this year, the Lakers need to target Redick for some floor-spacing help this offseason,” wrote Swartz.
For the 2019-20 campaign, Redick averaged 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and two assists while shooting 45.3 percent from the field for the Pelicans, per Basketball-Reference . However, this marked the first time in his 14-year career that he failed to make the playoffs, as New Orleans finished 13th in the Western Conference with a 30-42 record , despite the presence of young stars such as Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
In addition, Redick will be heading into the 2020-21 season with one year remaining on his two-year, $26.5 million contract, as also shown on his Basketball-Reference page. With his contract off the books by the summer of 2021, he would be an attractive trade target, not only for the Lakers but other teams that may be in need of a long-range shooter.
In addition to Redick, a few other shooters have been mentioned in recent weeks as potential acquisitions for the Lakers, either via trade or free agency. These include Brooklyn Nets small forward Joe Harris , a would-be free agent who is currently playing for a team that, excluding his contract, has more than $141 million in committed salary for the 2020-21 campaign. Much like Redick, Harris was one of the NBA’s more accurate three-point marksmen in the 2019-20 regular season, shooting 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.