Yeah, I owe J.J. Redick a bit of an apology.
Readers of this site may recall a post I made over the summer in which I parsed words from one of J.J.'s blog posts and concluded that he may not really be committed to the team. The post wasn't particularly notable, but it did prompt one reader to send me a sternly worded email to admonish me for doubting J.J.'s sincerity.
Obviously, I don't know J.J. The only time I've spoken to any current Magic player was when I thanked Adonal Foyle for signing an autograph for me before a game last year. I don't have any inside sources, either. All I have are my eyes and my brain, which led me to believe this summer that J.J. wasn't too thrilled with being part of the Magic. It's not entirely unfounded. Last year at around this time word got out that J.J.'s representatives asked the Magic to trade him. But whatever basis that assumption had in reality is gone now. Here's why.
Stan Van Gundy knows J.J. Redick, at least at the professional level. And Stan is impressed with how Redick has handled his role this season. From Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel:
"You've got to have a lot of respect for him," Van Gundy said. "He started in the year in the rotation and then we took him out. Then he was starting a little bit and we took him out. Now he's back in. He just keeps plugging away and I hope he continues to do that because it's a big help to us."
Even if J.J. never reads this post--and I sincerely doubt he will, I have no delusions of grandeur--I would at least like to make clear to my readers that I know I was wrong to doubt J.J. this summer. I'm proud of him, and hope he continues to work hard to stay in the rotation.