Nets lose potential mid-season acquisition with JJ Redick retirement

The Brooklyn Nets have been vacuuming up any veteran free agent who wants to chase a championship ring so far this offseason, and JJ Redick seemed like a somewhat natural fit. In fact, the former Duke star was doing everything short of admitting he wanted to play in New York over the last few months.

Redick spent the last 15 seasons bouncing around the NBA with teams like the Magic, Clippers, and 76ers, as his impeccable 3-point shooting helped make him a role player on one Finals team in Orlando and several very talented Los Angeles squads.

Redick, who lives in Brooklyn, could’ve made sense as a potential Nets acquisition, as supplementing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden with yet another experienced scorer like him could’ve been an inventive way for Steve Nash and Sean Marks to round out the back end of their bench.

Unfortunately, the Nets’ dreams of potentially adding Redick to the roster were extinguished for good this week, as he took to social media to announce his retirement early on Tuesday.

Redick, who made no secret of the fact he was being patient when it came to selecting his next team, made sense as a midseason acquisition, as the Nets could’ve made up for some inevitable injuries or ineffectiveness by signing him as a reserve. With his retirement official, Brooklyn can no longer realize that dream.

JJ Redick could’ve joined the Nets in the middle of the season.

The Nets weren’t going to get Redick in his prime, as the 37% clip that he had in stints with the Pelicans and Mavericks last season was the second-worst mark of his long career. Considering that his 3-point shooting was really the only string to his bow late in his NBA journey, a decline in that area was a bit concerning. 

However, over a decade of evidence states Redick is elite in that area, and factoring in how he would’ve had nothing but wide-open looks in Brooklyn, betting on a rebound wouldn’t have been the craziest idea in the world. Alas, Redick has decided to call it quits.

The Nets’ backcourt situation behind Irving and Harden could stand to get beefed up a bit. Patty Mills and Bruce Brown are solid players, but some questions exist.

Will Cam Thomas get meaningful minutes in his first NBA season? Could Joe Harris be transitioned to a bench role? Will offensively deficient players like Sekou Doumbouya and DeAndre’ Bembry make it into the rotation?

At least with Redick, Brooklyn could’ve know what they were getting. He wasn’t going to defend like Gary Payton or pass like John Stockton, but he was a proven scorer that didn’t need a ton of minutes to make an impact.

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While Redick didn’t set the world on fire with Dallas, he was still able to knock down triples. When Harris was struggling against Milwaukee in the postseason, Redick could’ve entered the game, given him a breather, and knocked down some shots from range that could’ve tipped the scale in Brooklyn’s favor.

While Redick never won a championship or got named to an All-Star team in his career, that doesn’t change the fact that he was one of the best role players the game had to offer for over a decade. He may not have seen his wish to play in front of his family granted, but it’s hard to look back at that career with a ton of regrets.

If the Nets want to peruse the free agent market and keep tabs on potential depth signings that could help them out in case of injury, they will have to cross Redick’s name off of whatever list they constructed.

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