NBA Trade Deadline: 3 trade targets teams should avoid

Feb 24, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) defends Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo (7) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) defends Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo (7) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
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NBA trade deadline
NBA trade deadline Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

NBA trade deadline must-avoid player No. 2: J.J. Redick

The New Orleans Pelicans are reported to be taking calls on J.J. Redick and may be motivated to move him before the trade deadline. Like Oladipo, he’s a free agent at the end of this season so if the Pelicans don’t intend to bring him back next season, shipping him out for a return of some sort is the prudent move.

Also like Oladipo, Redick isn’t have a very good season, and other teams would be best off avoiding trading for him. He’s shooting the worst 3-point percentage of his career at 35.9 percent, almost a hundred-point drop from his 45.3 percent clip last season, and his 8.0 points per game average is his worst since his third season in 2008-09.

Unlike Oladipo, Redick at least has a couple of teams where he would probably re-sign next season if he was traded, with a particular emphasis on the northeast. So if the Boston Celtics or Brooklyn Nets or another team in that region made a trade, they probably would have a chance at it not being a one-year rental.

However, if Redick doesn’t have an uptick in his output, a receiving team may not be so happy to keep him. That makes him another must-avoid.

However, J.J. Redick and Victor Oladipo have nothing on our final player to avoid at the NBA trade deadline.