[TyroberParticipant]

JJ Redick has finally earned himself a nice payday. Sources say there is more interest in what most people realize in back up SG JJ Reddick. He has been the most consistent player in the series against the celtics and has definitely raised some eyebrows this season. The magic have waited on him to become what he is for 4 years and they dont want to lose him but they might not have a choice. They guy is going to get paid this summer and since so many teams have the cap space someone is going to be pulling out the wallet for this young star. Dont be surprised to see teams throw out their mid level exception on him this summer.

the following article is from hoopsworld.com and was written by Bill Ingram
Just Call Him “Pay Day”

The Orlando Magic may have had things a little too easy in the first two rounds of the 2010 NBA playoffs. They swept the Charlotte Bobcats, though the Bobcats certainly put up a fight, and then blew their way through a Hawks team that looked like they were already on vacation. Perhaps the Magic started to believe that things were going to get easier as they advanced instead of harder. Perhaps they just had too much time off between series. Maybe they were just relieved not to have to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Whatever the case, the Magic team that started the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics looked nothing like the dominant powerhouse that swept its way through the first two rounds.

The Magic came out of the gates soft, as if they thought the Celtics would just roll over and give them a free pass to the NBA Finals. After all, the Bobcats and Hawks had been little more than stepping stones on Orlando’s date with destiny. The Celtics, however, had other plans. Boston seemed to have been laying back, conserving energy during the regular season in preparation for a long playoff run, but the Magic’s first clue that a real challenge was coming should have been Boston’s fairly easy handling of the Cavaliers in round two. Instead, a kinder, gentler Magic team greeted the boys in green, and Boston ate them alive in the first three games of the series.

Not all of the Magic players have been soft in the series, however. There has been one bright spot throughout, even as marquee names like Vince Carter (14.3 points on 37% shooting in the series), Dwight Howard (3-for-10 with seven points in Game 3) and Jameer Nelson (14.7 points on 39% shooting in the first three games) struggled, there was one man playing with a real sense of urgency. That man was the one they have begun calling “Pay Day” – J.J. Redick.

Redick left a long list of records in his wake when he left Duke University to join the NBA, including the prestigious basketball team’s all-time scoring mark. Hated by rivals and worshiped by fans, Redick was expected to make a significant impact on the NBA when the Magic made him the 11th overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft. It didn’t start that way, of course. Redick struggled as a rookie and rarely got meaningful playing time the next season, appearing in just 34 games. Gradually his minutes would increase, but it wasn’t until this, his fourth NBA season, that Redick finally started to look like the NBA version of that stellar college player.

It’s also, non-coincidentally, a contract year for Redick.

The soon-to-be restricted free agent had a solid season, appearing in all 82 games and averaging 9.6 points per contest while shooting better than 40% from the field and from behind the three-point arch. He also showed a knack for getting to the free throw line, always a specialty of his at Duke, and shot a very typical 86%. That experience has proven to be invaluable in the playoffs, and especially in the Eastern Conference Finals, where Redick has proven to be a big-time player, even when his teammates aren’t tuned in. Redick alone has increased his averages across the board for the third round, recording 11.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45% from the field and 54% from three – this against a Boston team that has been able to limit everyone else’s long-range effectiveness. Redick has continued to step up, even when his teammates appeared to have checked out.

More and more we’re seeing Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy go to Redick during crunch time, not only for his scoring ability, but also for his toughness, his defense, and his energy. Simply put, Redick comes ready to play, and at times his teammates have struggled to meet his intensity level. It seems Van Gundy decided to play Redick more this season to help the organization make a decision on him this summer, and Redick has answered the call.

Whatever else happens in the playoffs, Redick has earned a new nickname in Orlando: “Pay Day.” He will certainly get his this summer, and he’s looking like the man who will help the Magic forget Vince Carter’s disappointing and, thankfully, brief, tenure with the team.

Read more NBA news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=16319#ixzz0oyWAUWnQ

[IknoBall12Participant]

hes finally getting a chance 2 show wat he can do

[PureshooterParticipant]

I agree with the article that Redick has stepped it up, but that’s a fairly nasty dig at Carter at the end. Granted he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, but Rashard Lewis should really be taking more of the blame for the Magic’s shortcomings in the Boston series.

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