- Let the speculation begin: just a few days after John Denton reported the Magic might be shopping Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, and J.J. Redick, Tim Povtak writes in today's Orlando Sentinel that Redick has indeed drawn interest from other teams. Magic GM Otis Smith told Povtak, "[J.J.]'s value is pretty high right now. What he can do -- shoot -- is at a premium in this league." Given Keith Bogans' and Keyon Dooling's poor play lately, it'd be wise for Otis to hang onto J.J. At least Maurice Evans is coming around.
- For his part, Matt Watson thinks Smith is overestimating Redick's value: "He can shoot ... but can't create his own shot. He can play offense ... but can't play defense. Yeah, I bet the phone is ringing off the hook."
- Redick's PER of 10.03 is 60th (out of 86) among NBA shooting guards. Bogans and Evans aren't much better, placing 51st and 52nd, respectively.
- The best comment I read today came from dxwwf3 at MagicMadness, who wrote:
I know a team that should really be interested in JJ:
The Orlando Magic
- Yesterday, Henry Abbott of TrueHoop tried to find out if anyone has ever touched the top of the backboard. He turned to Todd Gallagher, author of Andy Roddick Beat Me with a Frying Pan, for the answer. Gallagher asked some NBAers who they thought was capable of pulling off that unheard-of feat, and they all mentioned Dwight Howard. However, our front-office was not cooperative with Gallagher, denying his requests to meet with Dwight post-practice to see if he could do it. Frustrated, Gallagher eventually took his search elsewhere. Score two points for Gallagher for not putting up with any crap, and take away a billion points from the Magic for not helping him out. Injury concerns? What injury concerns? Dwight would make one jump for the camera crew, after a practice in which he would have jumped in full-contact situations literally hundreds of time, and then be free to go. Doesn't make any sense.
- Death, taxes, and Grant Hill being injured. It took him almost half a season, but he finally did it, as he was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. He'll be out of action for the Suns for two weeks, according to AZCentral. Thanks to Bright Side of the Sun for pointing out the link. I'm not being facetious at all when I say, "Best wishes to Grant on a speedy recovery."
- Finally, please welcome SB Nation's newest site, PickAxeAndRoll.com, which is devoted to the Denver Nuggets.
Submit your Redick trade proposals (using the Trade Machine first, please) either in the comments or in the diaries. I'd love to hear some ideas from other teams' bloggers, too.