J.J. Redick, shown here moments after the Orlando Magic selected him 11th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft, asked the team to trade him if it doesn't expect to play him. It would behoove the Magic to grant his request.

Photo by Jason DeCrow, the Associated Press

I love J.J. Redick.

When I attend Magic games at the Amway Arena, I participate in the raucous "WE-WANT-J.J.!" chants that start when garbage time does. I'm one of those obnoxious fans who goes nuts when he gets up off the bench and walks to the scorer's table. I stand up whenever he shoots so, when the shot goes in, I'm already prepared to cheer. I want J.J. to succeed in the NBA.

But, as much as I'd like for him to make a name for himself here, I realize it isn't going to happen. That's why the Orlando Magic need to trade J.J. Redick this summer.

The logic behind unloading J.J. is obvious: he doesn't play. And it's not a matter of coaching, either. J.J. averaged more minutes per game under Brian Hill -- he of the three-point-averse, defensive-minded philosophy -- than he did under Stan Van Gundy -- he of the three-point-happy, offensive-minded philosophy. If Redick, a three-point specialist, couldn't crack Van Gundy's rotation this year playing behind the likes of Maurice Evans and Keith Bogans, there's no reason to expect he will next year. Magic GM Otis Smith is on the record as saying J.J. could move from third on the depth chart to first due to Evans' free agency and Bogans' potential free agency (he has a player option). However, if either those players leave, the Magic would have only Redick available to play the two-guard position, and they'd certainly focus their free agency efforts on signing a veteran to play in front of Redick. In other words, J.J. won't be any closer to NBA relevance next season than he was this season... if he stays in Orlando, that is.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News notes that basketball fans and analysts tend to overvalue spot-up shooters like Redick (and Rashard Lewis, too), which is probably true. David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout, who also offered this evaluation of J.J. in July, remains similarly unconvinced that Redick will ever make it in the NBA, to heck with what professional trainer David Thorpe thinks. However, NBA teams always -- always -- want shooters to fill out their roster. How else to explain the popularity of Kyle Korver, Wally Szczerbiak, Peja Stojakovic, and James Jones, to name a few? To that end, we submit the Magic should fulfill J.J.'s trade request sooner rather than later. So, where should the Magic look? 3QC has four suggestions, in alphabetical order:

• Golden State seems like an obvious destination because it places very little absolutely no emphasis on defense and only asks its players to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. The Magic could try packaging Redick with Carlos Arroyo in a sign-and-trade deal to obtain Mickael Pietrus, nicknamed Air France for his nationality and athleticism, who can play the 2-through-4 positions.
• Memphis appears to be in rebuilding mode and, in Mike Miller and Juan Carlos Navarro, has a duo of 28-year-old two guards who will be well past their primes by the time it's ready to seriously contend for a playoff spot. Redick (24) is on the same timeline as small forward Rudy Gay (22); power forward Hakim Warrick (25); and point guards Mike Conley (20) and Kyle Lowry (22). Either Miller or Navarro would fit in well with the Magic.
• New York may also have interest in Redick. Its new coach, Mike D'Antoni, popularized the "run-and-gun" style during his tenure in Phoenix. He likes players who can score from anywhere. Redick, primarily a spot-up shooter, showed glimpses of having a drive-and-kick/distributor role on the Magic's summer team last year. D'Antoni is reportedly not keen on retaining David Lee, rebounder extraordinaire, because he's an offensive liability.
• Philadelphia is the worst three-point shooting team in the league. The 76ers don't regret getting rid of Korver -- dumping his salary freed up cap space to re-sign Andre Iguodala this summer -- but they do need to find someone who can shoot at a similar clip. Perhaps the 76ers would part with their first-round pick (16th overall) for Redick, the Magic's first-rounder this year (22nd overall) and future second-round picks.

Maybe all this speculations will turn out to be an exercise in futility. Maybe Stan Van Gundy read -- and subsequently agreed with -- Kelly Dwyer's thoughts on Redick ("J.J. Redick, you have to believe me, needs more minutes. The team needs more low-turnover/high-yield players getting big minutes"). Maybe Keith Bogans does his best (worst?) DeShawn Stevenson impression and opts out looking for more money. Maybe the Magic decide it's not worth tripling Maurice Evans' salary to keep him. But for right now, it's a safe bet that J.J.'s NBA future rests with another team in another city, and it's certain that Otis Smith needs to consider trading him while he still has value.

Hedo Turkoglu's most recent game-winning play for the Magic this season, a tough driving layup to beat the Raptors in Game Two.

Hedo Turkoglu is the NBA's Most Improved Player.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reported the news earlier today. The Magic have called a news conference for tomorrow afternoon but haven't specified a reason. The award is indeed Hedo's, and deservedly so (no disrespect intended to Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, or Andrew Bynum).

We outlined how awesome Turk is in this post last week, but let's go over some stats: Turk set career highs in points per game (19.5), rebounds per game (5.7), assists per game (5.0), minutes per game (36.9), field goal percentage (.456), and games played (82, and he started all of them). Regarding advanced metrics, Turk had a career-best in Player Efficiency Rating (17.8) and effective field goal percentage (.524). Additionally, he was one of four players to average 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists this season, joining Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Vince Carter. Yeah, and we laughed at him when he told the Sentinel in November he thought he could be an All-Star.

We'd like to congratulate Hedo for winning this coveted award, and thank him for playing so well for us this season. Hopefully, he'll celebrate the achievement by helping us dispatch the Raptors. It'd be a fitting way for us to advance in the playoffs.

Hedo Turkoglu takes a three-pointer over Pau Gasol in the Magic's 112-85 victory over the Grizzlies. Turkoglu made 6 of Orlando's 18 treys in the game.
Photo by Joe Murphy, NBAE/Getty Images

When Dennis Scott made what was then an NBA-record 11 three-pointers in one game, the headline of the Orlando Sentinel's sports section the next day was "3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3!" After the Magic's long-range firebombing of the Grizzlies last night, I wanted to headline this recap like the Sentinel did all those years ago, but I'm not sure there would be room for 18 numeral 3s in the title bars of most browsers. Here's the boxscore for the game, by the way.

The 18 made three-pointers set a franchise record. NBA.com was kind enough to include each and every one of them in its highlight reel. There's nothing else on it. Just threes. Which pretty much sums up the game, right? The Grizzlies let the Magic take uncontested threes throughout the game, and Orlando made them pay. Note to other teams: Hedo Turkoglu is a good shooter. Do NOT go under the pick-and-roll on him, as the Grizzlies did. Said Hedo of the Grizzlies' pick-and-roll defense, "I couldn't understand that. It's kind of taking a risk for them. It was good for me that I knocked them down. I guess they didn't want me to drive. I guess they just wanted me to shoot the ball and see if it goes in."

Stan Van Gundy mentioned after the game that he was happy with his team's defense because they held the Grizzlies to 85 points overall, only 37 of which came after halftime. The Grizzlies posted an offensive rating of 103.7 last night, well below their season-average of 107.9. For some perspective, the Chicago Bulls' offensive rating this season is 103.8, or 24th-worst in the league. Still, I don't want to give the Magic too much credit defensively. The Grizzlies packed this one in early, and who can blame them? Not only did they watch helplessly as the Magic made it rain triples on them, but they did so in front of what is literally the sparsest crowd I've ever seen at an NBA game. I went to Orlando Miracle games that were more crowded than last night's game was. Just look at all those empty seats!

Turk was clearly last night's MVP with 26 points, but there were other great individual performances as well: Carlos Arroyo shot poorly (1-of-5), but he recorded 7 assists and just 1 turnover in 24 minutes; Keyon Dooling scored 13 points in 24 minutes, shredded the Grizzlies' defense with aggressive drives, and even hit a three-pointer; and Brian Cook scored in double-figures again, adding 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. On the Memphis side, Rudy Gay was fantastic with 20 points on just 11 shots. Stromile Swift was surprisingly competent with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Um, that's all I got. Chip at 3 Shades of Blue doesn't have much to say either, except "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue." EDIT: Chip has since updated that post with some thoughts on the game.  

It's hard to take anything away from this game, though. Did we learn anything about this team that we didn't already know? The Magic take lots of threes; use the pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu; and cannot rebound worth a damn, with just 5 offensive boards in 33 chances. I suppose it's encouraging that the Magic kept pouring it on in the second half instead of letting the Grizzlies get back into it -- check out the Game Flow to see what I mean -- but the Grizzlies are the exception, and not the rule. Until we consistently close teams out, we should assume the Magic are going to blow big leads. Likewise, we can't expect to hit 18 threes every night, mostly because we can't expect our opponents to let us get that open, especially not after this game. With no disrespect intended toward Grizzlies fans, how excited should a team be after crushing Memphis by 27? Isn't that sort of expected by now?

The Magic have an off-day today, then a nationally televised rematch with the Pistons tomorrow. The team can't lose focus if it hopes to beat Detroit for the second time in a week on Friday.

	vs.
12-29		26-17
FedExForum
8:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Mike Conley	PG	Carlos Arroyo
Mike Miller	SG	Maurice Evans
Rudy Gay	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Pau Gasol	PF	Rashard Lewis
Darko Milicic	C	Dwight Howard

There are a few interesting storylines in tonight's Magic/Grizzlies tilt. For me, the game is most significant because it's the Magic's first chance to avenge an inexcusable home loss against an inferior team. Sure, the losses to Indiana and Atlanta came first, but we haven't played those teams since then. The Grizzlies, if you recall, beat us 123-119 back in December thanks to 32 points from Rudy Gay and some timely three-point shooting from Juan Carlos Navarro. The Magic would love to return the favor, and a victory tonight would make it four-out-of-five for us.

But the teams will look a little bit different. The Grizzlies will have Pau Gasol and Mike Conley, who did not appear in the first matchup between these teams, in their starting lineup. I think the Grizzlies having Gasol is actually a positive for us; he's not a good defensive player and he's not going to want to stray from the paint to guard Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis on the perimeter. He'll likely be assigned to guard Dwight Howard, which leaves Darko Milicic -- who is prone to bouts of stupidity mental lapses -- to check the perimeter. I like our chances with that matchup.

Likewise, the Magic will have Rashard Lewis, who missed the first game due to a sore neck. However, they won't have Jameer Nelson, who came up big against the Grizzlies the first time around (18 points, 8 assists), because he is nursing a sore right foot.

Additionally, tonight's game is the Magic's last road contest against a Western opponent. A victory would bump the Magic to 9-6 on the road against the West, a respectable number. Too bad they're just 2-4 at home against the West, but that's a concern for another time.

The Grizzlies are the league's 7th-fastest team, averaging 93.3 possessions per game, so the game should be exciting to watch. As an added bonus, both teams tonight feature All-Star Slam Dunk participants -- Dwight Howard for Orlando, Rudy Gay for Memphis -- so there's potential for a few highlight-reel slams also. (YouTube Hat-tip: Dwyer)

For further reading, check out 3 Shades of Blue's preview, which gives the Magic the edge at nearly every position; and Orlando Magic Blog's glance at Darko's disappointing season.

• The Magic and the Kings keep getting linked by trade rumors. Ron Artest to Orlando? Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Orlando? But Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty proposes another: Mike Bibby. He looked around the league and assessed Bibby's relative value to other teams, as well as what those other teams can offer in return, and classified Orlando as a team that intrigues him. He explains,

  "Bibby fits the gunner-around-Dwight philosophy and Orlando has the expirings and young talent to pull it off. Jameer Nelson is a bit of a problem, though."

  I don't think Bibby is such a great fit here, honestly. He's in the same shoot-first mold as Jameer Nelson, and for whatever reason the team has played better with pass-first Carlos Arroyo at the helm this season. So no, I'm not sure that he's the answer, especially when our biggest need is a power forward who can defend.

• Speaking of trades, the good folks at Hardwood Paroxysm put Carlos Arroyo on their list of "20 Players To Be Freed from Captivity." Here's how they explain it:

  [Arroyo]'s playing too well to bench, but not well enough to put in front of Nelson's big fat contract. This is in a league where Jason Williams starts for a team. This must be remedied. The Magic will be happier. They can put Nelson and the contract in the slot and let him run the show.

  I disagree, frankly. Trading Arroyo leaves us with only Keyon Dooling as the backup point guard, and that's not his natural position anyway. Keep Carlos here, please.

• Keith Bogans' line from last night: 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 butt-pat.
• Dwight Howard will once again participate in the Sprite Slam Dunk competition. He'll face-off against Gerald Green, the defending champion from the Minnesota Timberwolves; Rudy Gay from the Memphis Grizzlies; and Jamario Moon from the Toronto Raptors. After getting robbed last year, Dwight is back with a vengeance, and has told the Orlando Sentinel's Brian Schmitz that he has a plan. Henry Abbott, of TrueHoop fame, writes, "isn't Howard breaking some kind of unwritten rule by admitting that he's taking the contest so seriously?"
• Str8 Hoops has this compilation of nicknames for NBA players. Oddly enough, "Turk" is not included next to Hedo Turkoglu's name, but "Glu" is. Does that mean we have a "Sweet Lew" (Rashard Lewis) and a "Sweet Glu"? (Hat-tip: Kelly Dwyer)

Hard to believe we were the toast of the NBA at one point, isn't it?

• Over at Mavs Moneyball, Wes Cox weighs in on the (somewhat) controversial ruling that Keith Bogans' toe was on the three-point line on that big shot he hit late in the game last night:

  Pet Peeve note: If that shot happened in the 1st quarter, I have no doubt they would have counted it as a 3. The refs only pay attention to toes on lines in the final 2 minutes of games, and I have no idea why.

  Even Mavs fans think we might have gotten hosed. Oh well.

• Matt Watson asks, "Did the clock strike midnight in Orlando?" He doesn't think we're going to be atop the Southeast for very much longer, either. "The 13-10 Wizards (winners of six of their last seven) are now just 2.5 games behind Orlando in the standings, and while that team is certainly flawed, it's also undeniably deeper. [...] I wouldn't be shocked at all if they overtake the Magic for the division lead sooner rather than later."
• Brian Schmitz, a fellow member of the Unofficial Trevor Ariza Fan Club, wonders if the Magic made a mistake in dealing him to L.A. for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook. The crux of his argument: "If you have a team chock-full of offensive players, why deal away one of your best defenders and hustle guys?" Why indeed. I have no doubt that Ariza would have been able to shut down Rudy Gay the other night.
• Speaking of Mo Evans, the broadcast team last night mentioned that his Magic teammates call him "Mogans" due to his resemblance to Keith Bogans.
• John Denton questions the wisdom of Stan Van Gundy, who has really let his team have it over the course of this skid. Denton writes, "[T]here are usually only so many times a coach can play the fiery tirade card" during an 82-game season. That's a pretty good point, and I hope the team stays tuned-in to him throughout the season. Apathy is a killer.

	vs.
17-7		6-16
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	D. Stoudamire
Keith Bogans	SG	J.C. Navarro
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Mike Miller
Rashard Lewis	PF	Rudy Gay
Dwight Howard	C	Darko Milicic

The Grizzlies' All-Star power forward, Pau Gasol, is sitting this one out with a sore toe. Two-guard Juan Carlos Navarro will start in his place, moving Mike Miller to small forward and Rudy Gay to power forward. Navarro, a small, quick, European rookie, has Magic-killer written all over him.

Be sure to check out 3 Shades of Blue's preview for tonight's game.

Get those donuts.