Celtics Should Target J.J. Redick to Solve Shooting Issues
The Boston Celtics are in hot pursuit of Blake Griffin, but they should shift their attention to teammate, J.J. Redick, for the solution to their shooting woes
Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick is entering the final year of his contract. With the Clippers seemingly on the verge of blowing it up, the Boston Celtics should be setting their sights on acquiring the sharpshooter.
The Celtics have been in trade talks with the Clippers this offseason, vying for a chance to land superstar Blake Griffin. Despite the potential recruitment of big-name stars, the Celtics are still searching for a player that can solve the Celtics’ lack of shooting ability, and J.J. Redick is that player.
Redick is coming off of an epic shooting season with the Clippers – averaging 16.3 points on an astounding 48 percent field goal percentage. Making this more impressive, 48 percent of Redick’s field goals came from behind the three-point line, solidifying himself as one of the premier shooters in the league.
The NBA is quickly changing into a perimeter-shooting league, with teams shooting more threes than ever before. With this change, teams that do not assemble their roster to adapt to this change start to get left behind and the Celtics are victims of this league-wide movement.
Last season, the Celtics shot 34 percent from three – ranking them 28th in the league. To counter this offensive deficiency, the Celtics elected to get out on the break and jack-it-up – ranking fourth in the NBA in pace and averaging 89.2 field goal attempts per game. This made the Celtics somewhat reckless on offense, if they had more stable offensive options to score, their increased efficiency would translate into wins.
Spot-up outside shooters are not hard to find in the modern NBA, however it is rare that these three-point specialists can give a team starting-quality minutes – as opposed to providing a spark off the bench. Clippers guard J.J. Redick is what every NBA team needs as the outside shot becomes consistently more vital for every NBA team. He is a pure shooter that has shown he can be relied on as a second or third offensive option in a starting lineup.
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The Celtics have not found their shooter to carry the offense on the perimeter. Danny Ainge has tried to draft three-point shooters in recent years – James Young and R.J. Hunter – but neither player has been given ample opportunity to provide the Celtics with an offensive impact.
There is a sense of urgency to ‘win now’ for the Celtics. With big-name players on the market, and the addition of Al Horford, they’re aware that if they make a blockbuster trade they will be competing at the top of the Eastern Conference. However, their shooting ability has held them back in recent years and will likely do the same next season if it is not addressed.
The only way Boston are able to pry the Clippers’ third best scorer away is to return an asset just as valuable, filling a roster hole that the Clippers have struggled with for half a decade. The small forward position has been the void of success for the Clippers, and Jae Crowder is likely to be on their radar.
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Crowder is not only a solid NBA player, but is growing into a big-time defender with a reliable offensive skill set. A J.J. Redick and Jae Crowder swap between the Celtics and Clippers would be a logical move by both teams, filling roster holes that have haunted both teams for years.