Duke legend signs three year, $19 million deal to stay with Orlando
It has been a memorable summer for Duke jersey retiree J.J. Redick. After wrapping up a career year with the Orlando Magic and playing a key role in the team’s run to the Eastern Conference finals, Redick got married and headed to Europe for his honeymoon.
While in Rome, J.J. learned that the Chicago Bulls would be making him a lucrative offer worth $19 million over three years, with a front-loaded salary of around $8 million in the first year of the deal and a great opportunity to start on one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams. The next night during a meal in Florence, the offer became official.
“I think the people at the restaurant must have thought I was crazy or I didn’t like my wife because I was literally getting up like every 10 minutes and going out to the square and pacing around. I pace when I talk on the phone,” said Redick. “We went back to the hotel and played the fax game. There was some stuff that was lost in translation with the hotel employees, but we got it done.”
From there, J.J. had to play the waiting game. As a restricted free agent, the Magic had about a week to decide if they wanted to match the Chicago offer and retain the shooting guard. At age 26, Redick had made himself into a valuable free agent with steady improvement and a tremendous work ethic. In 2009-10, he enjoyed a breakout year, averaging a career-high 9.6 PPG and 1.9 APG in 22 minutes per game. The Virginia native played all 82 games and led the Magic in 3-point shooting (111-of-274 for 40.5%). He has become a solid defender for Orlando and one of the team’s best decision-makers, with only 63 turnovers in 1,808 minutes.
The Orlando roster already had good backcourt depth and a high payroll, with a new deal for J.J. pushing the team further into the luxury tax. However, Orlando decided they wanted to keep Redick in a Magic uniform. “It was complicated but we started talking about what we are trying to do here and how we are trying to do it,” said Orlando GM Otis Smith. “It came down to me, (thinking about) pedigree, DNA and things that most people don’t think about, guys who are winners. You want to keep as many of those guys around in your program as you possibly can. It was less about the money for me and more about keeping a guy we’ve had around our organization for the past four years here.”
Smith continued, “He’s made himself a better player every year. I’ve watched him grow from the frustration of not playing his rookie year to basically pushing himself to play as much as he possibly can and get better every year. As I’ve said before, you can’t have enough guys on your roster that their core is just winning. Losing actually bothers them and he is one of those guys that just at his core he is a winner. So, you want to keep him around as long as you possibly can.”
J.J. is excited to remain in Orlando, saying he was “flattered” both by the Chicago offer and the Magic’s response. He is also ready to join forces with former Duke teammate Chris Duhon, who made the jump from the Knicks to Orlando this summer.
“Chris and I, we’ve kept in touch and we see each other in the summer a lot at Duke,” Redick said. “I have paid attention to what he does, I pay attention to what all the Duke guys do, especially the guys I’ve played with. I think it will be great. I really do. Chris and I had a natural chemistry on the court at Duke and played well together and I am looking forward to playing with him again.”
Redick earned a pair of ACC titles and reached the Final Four in two seasons teamed with Duhon at Duke, and his winning ways have continued in Orlando. “He has done everything we have asked him to do and then some and things that we haven’t asked him to do because that is just how he is built,” said Smith. “He is a winner.”
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