JJ: I want to enjoy basketball again  

We take this break in Dwight-a-Palooza so that we may bring you the following conversation with Orlando Magic guard JJ Redick:

Scott Anez:  I am wondering how many times you re-played that three-point shot near the end of game six in Atlanta last year…

JJ Redick:  The first month or so of the offseason I did re-play that shot numerous times.  And then once the NBA Finals came and went and I was able to get out of that playoff mode, I was able to put it in the back of my mind.  Although, there were some times during my workouts even into the fall in October and November and I’d think of that shot.  It definitely stings a little bit, especially with how that season went.  I don’t think anyone on our team or our organization was happy with how our season went last year.

Scott:  Let’s talk about last season.  This team just was not able to get a firm grasp of momentum and carry it through, were you?

JJ:  I think there was a lack of consistency last  year.  That’s the overall feeling that I got.  Just a lack of consistent effort,  a lack of consistent attention to detail.  Ya know, we were never able to put a good stretch of games together besides that initial winning streak after the trades.  I mean after that streak, we were extremely inconsistent and it was frustrating at times.  We always had a good amount of talent and anytime you have Dwight Howard on your team, you have a chance to win every game.  With how the Atlanta series went, it was just disappointing.

Scott:  So you move into this season.  With all that happened last season with mega-trades and stomach viruses and slippery courts and whatnot, now you have this whole Dwight Howard saga hanging over your heads.  How do you deal with this situation, JJ?

JJ:  I think you have to be a professional.  I think you have to come to work and prepare the same way and play the same way.  Whatever happens with Dwight is gonna happen.  To me, as a player, my job is not to make a decision on Dwight nor is it to speculate on where he will be traded or if he’ll be traded or  if he’ll sign an extension.  All that stuff  is completely out of my control.  I have to come in and do my job.  For everybody on our team, that’s ultimately what we have to do.  Stan has to do his job.  Our coaching staff has to prepare and scout the same way they always do.It will be a distraction in a sense that every day after practice we will be asked about it.  However, when we’re on the court and I’m shooting a free throw, I’m not gonna be thinking in the back of my mind whether Dwight is gonna sign an extension or not.

Scott:  There’s that name again—Dwight.  So much is up in the air right now.  With his trade request, it looks as if Dwight is in effect saying that  he doesn’t believe this team is good enough.  How do you respond to that?

JJ:  Ya know, I think Dwight is obviously entitled to his opinion about what this  organization hasn’t done  or has done.  That’s just an opinion at this point.  I think it’s a subjective thing.  But, I still think we have good players.  To me, it does a disservice and discredit to our management  and ownershipbecause we have been an elite  team in the East now for the last four years.  We weren’t consistent last year but I still think we could have had a chance had we gotten past Atlanta to play Chicago tough and to get into the conference finals.  That would have been three straight years.  And the year before that, in ’08, we won 52 games.  We tied or won the season series against every team in the regular season.  So we’ve been an elite franchise now for four years and going into this year with Dwight we still are an elite franchise.  I don’t want to discredit what Otis has done and what Bob Vander Weide has done  and what the DeVos family has done.

Scott:  Obviously, the team goal, with or without Dwight, remains the same—to win an NBA title.  What about JJ Redick’s personal goals this year?

JJ:  I think for me I just want to enjoy basketball again.  I think, at times last year when I let the negativity of everything happening get to me.  The trades personally affected me because I was close to some of those guys who were traded.  The inconsistency of our team affected me.  My New Year’s resolution is to just be positive.  I love this game so much and being away from it for so long just reinforced that notion of how important competing and playing this game is.  From a personal level, I just want to have a great individual season, but my ultimate goal is to win a championship. If that means coming off the bench and playing 20-25 minutes per game, then great!  I just want to have a chance to win a championship.