The thought was that former Sixer JJ Redick might wind up back in the Northeast via trade or buyout this month. His family still lives in Brooklyn, which was the case during his Philly tenure.

That did not happen, however.

Instead, Redick was moved to the Mavericks, which apparently was not part of the plan. He explained how it all went down on his podcast, criticizing Pelicans GM David Griffin for going back on an alleged deal they had made.

ESPN’s Andrew Lopez laid out what was said in this Twitter thread:

Alright, well, a couple of thoughts here.

One, if Redick and Griffin had an agreement in place, that agreement should have been honored. It’s a veteran GM and veteran player (reportedly) having direct and honest discussions.

Two, and Redick admits this, but the Pelicans have to do what’s in their best interest and can’t always honor a player’s specific request. If you can’t work a preferred trade, and have the option of doing a non-preferred trade to get back assets (in lieu of a buyout), then teams are going to go down that path.

A thought floating around on Twitter right now is that Redick is exhibiting some sort of “privilege” here because he thinks he’s entitled to play in Brooklyn, or Philly, or a team in the region where his family currently lives. Those two teams, specifically, are contenders, though the Knicks and Celtics would fit the geographic preference, too. No clue if those franchises were interested in Redick, which is kind of another story entirely.

But some of the push back against Redick specifically seems be centered on him playing the victim role because he didn’t get what he wanted. Maybe it’s fair, or maybe not, but he’s a respected veteran, and if he’s going scorched Earth on Griffin and the Pelicans, then it’s not a great look for NOLA.