“David Griffin did not trade me despite my trade request”: JJ Redick reveals how the Pelicans front office hung him out to dry this season

JJ Redick is a 15-year NBA veteran, so he knows all about how front offices work. He reveals how David Griffin left him hanging all season.

It’s a cliche because it’s true – the fact that the NBA has always been and always will be a business. Players will always be treated like commodities on the stock exchange.

Redick was an integral part of the Philadelphia 76ers for 2 seasons. Now 36 years old, the sharpshooter made the playoffs for each of his first 13 seasons in the league. This streak was broken as he spent the past year and a half with the New Orleans Pelicans.

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While Redick is no longer the player he was only 2 years ago, he still has significant value to a playoff team. You can never have enough shooting on your roster, and an all-time shooter like the Duke product is always a positive presence in your squad.

Despite all of these attributes, David Griffin held Redick out to dry. The latter went in-depth in his previous ‘Old Man and the Three’ podcast episode.

JJ Redick says NBA players should not trust David Griffin or the Pelicans’ front office

Redick revealed that he’d put in a trade request with Griffin before the start of this season. At the time, the former Cavs’ GM had stalled, asking Redick to try things out for a month.

JJ agreed to this prospect, but he knew what was coming under Stan van Gundy, with their history in Orlando. His playing time sank to a decade-long low as SvG attempted – unsuccessfully – to install a stouter defense.

Despite this, Redick says that Griffin did not trade him until it was absolutely necessary:

“I don’t think you’re going to get honesty from that front office, objectively speaking. That’s not an opinion, I just don’t think you’re gonna get that. I don’t think what happened with me is necessarily an isolated incident.”

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“Front offices around the league operate in their best interest. I get that. I understand that. Truthfully… I think I was a little naive thinking I was in Year 15 and I attempted to do things right throughout my career.”

“But in terms of this front office, yeah, it’s not something where I would expect certainly the agents who worked on this with me to ever trust that front office again.”