J.J. Redick, sequestered on the Orlando bench for much of the season, has asked his agent, Arn Tellem, to inquire about a trade possibility. But Magic general manager Otis Smith said that right now, there is not much chance of that happening.
"Why would I do that before I've really seen him? So he can do something somewhere else?" Smith said in the Orlando Sentinel. "I think J.J. can play. He has to have patience. It's the worst thing for young guys, having patience. I know. I was that guy [when Smith played in the NBA]."
Redick, the Magic's first-round pick out of Duke in 2006, has played in just 20 games, averaging only 8.3 minutes and 3.7 points. He hasn't received much playing time because coach Stan Van Gundy believes fellow guards Maurice Evans and Keith Bogans are better at defense and rebounding, elements the Magic needs more than Redick's shooting proficiency at this point.
Smith also isn't planning on trading Redick before the Feb. 21 NBA trade deadline because Evans, Bogans and and Keyon Dooling all can become free agents after the season.
"We want to see what's out there," Redick told the Orlando Sentinel. "I want to stay here, but it's been frustrating."
Van Gundy has been upfront with Redick, telling him there wasn't much hope for him getting off the bench the rest of this season. "Right now it would be very hard to fit him in," Van Gundy said. "I know it's also hard to keep sitting him on the bench. . . . Should we be playing him? Right now we're going good so we probably won't disrupt things.
"I think about it all the time. He makes you think about it all the time when you watch practice. I know he's really frustrated because there's not a lot more he can be doing."
Van Gundy said he told Redick to just keep working. "He just has to keep doing what he's doing. There's nothing negative with him. I've got confidence in him and I'm sure he'll help us when it's all over. I just don't know when."