Otis Smith (On J.J. Redick)
Opening Statement:
“He’s staying.”
Was it complicated because of the money to decide to retain J.J. Redick?
“It was complicated but we started talking about what we are trying to do here and how we are trying to do it. It came down to me, (thinking about) pedigree, DNA and things that most people don’t think about, guys who are winners. You want to keep as many of those guys around in your program as you possibly can. It was less about the money for me and more about keeping a guy we’ve had around our organization for the past four years here.”
How has Redick been an asset to the Magic?
“He’s made himself a better player every year. I’ve watched him grow from the frustration of not playing his rookie year to basically pushing himself to play as much as he possibly can and get better every year. As I’ve said before, you can’t have enough guys on your roster that their core is just winning. Losing actually bothers them and he is one of those guys that just at his core he is a winner. So, you want to keep him around as long as you possibly can.”
When did Redick find out he was staying in Orlando?
“I have not talked to J.J. Stan (Van Gundy) made him aware last night.”
When was the decision made?
“We made a decision yesterday. The folks from Grand Rapids pretty much supported me from day one. They told me to do what I think is in the best interest of this team long-term. As I said last time I was sitting right here, I can’t ask for a better ownership group than we have in the DeVos family. We are trying to move an organization forward and continue our quest for an NBA Title.”
Did you have a green light from the start or was there some debate money-wise?
“There is always some debate money-wise. When the offer came out on Saturday, Bob (Vander Weide) had an initial conversation and then we talked again on Wednesday. There is always some debate in regards to what the financials look like over the long run.”
On the tax costing the Magic much more:
“When you figure in the tax, it is a big number to chew off of over the life of the deal. But when you look at all of our contracts, who is coming off when and the flexibility we have, you have to remain somewhat flexible to do other things regardless of what it looks like right now.”
Have you made an offer to Matt Barnes?
“No, I have not.”
Have you talked to other players?
“We’ve had brief conversations, nothing concrete.”
How do your moves trickle down to the fans?
“If I’m a fan, I would think our fans should be excited about us doing everything we can possibly can to win and not necessarily looking at it from the other end of teams that are holding money for the year 2012 free agency. We are trying to win right now, so if I’m a fan, I’m more excited about that.”
How more flexible is your Magic considering the amount you are willing to pay over the next few years?
“The fact that we have players that other teams want makes you pretty flexible. Is it possible to get off contracts and move a little bit less money? Sure, but my thing is not to get off talent. At the end of the day, our goal is our goal is our goal. And our goal to start this season is no different than our goal to start last and that is to become NBA Championships. In order to do that, you have to have a talented roster. I think our roster competes with any other roster in the league.”
What do you think about J.J from where he was four years ago to where he is now?
“His DNA is a winner. He is going to work all he can to get better and that is what he has done. He has gotten better year after year just because he is not afraid to put in the work. Every guy in this league, if they are not top five picks in the draft, goes through a period of time in their career where they want to be traded. That’s not uncommon. But what we are trying to do is build a team and understand that there is a process, particularly in young guys that don’t understand the process, that sometimes it’s better in the long run for them not to play so often and to continue to work and get better. He has done everything we have asked him to do and then some and things that we haven’t asked him to do because that is just how he is built. He is a winner.”
About J.J. wanting to be traded early on in his career:
“He and I laugh about it loud. His agent and I laugh about it now. Back to what he was to what he has made himself become – he has made himself into a better basketball. We kind of snicker about it now because he put in the work and got better. It is really harder to keep him off the court than it was not playing him.”
Do you see yourself making any more moves this summer?
“I can answer that and say that I think our roster is set but there is a lot of movement or potential movement in our league right now. You never stop working in this business, so I would never say never.”
What is the process of retaining a player?
“You send it to the league, the agent, the other team and the player.”
How will the Magic be better next season compared to this past season?
“I think we have better players and I think the players we brought in our better. I think a year with our guys, regarding some of the guys we brought in last year, you look at our track record and understand that it takes a guy a year to get fully equipped with who he is and how he is coached. So I think Brandon (Bass) will have a better year and I think Vince (Carter) will have a better year. We brought in better quality talent in our reserve roles so I think those things are going to be good.”
Did your decision have anything to do with the new arena and starting off successfully?
“Well I think it has to do with winning. I don’t know if we add those two equations together. Everything we do is with the goal of trying to win basketball games and not trying to go backwards. We are really trying to win a title and that is something this city should be proud of.”
When did you make the decision not to pursue Matt Barnes and what were the factors?
“We looked at everything as it relates to our team and in some areas as to how we can get better. We looked at that as it relates to Quentin (Richardson), as it relates to Matt and as it relates to J.J. We are trying to improve our talent in other ways so it came down to out of those three which two we would bring in. Quentin is a little bit of a better skills player and has some the similar toughness that Matt has and then J.J and all the things I said before. We liked Matt for what he brought to the table but sometimes you have to make decisions that are best for your decision long term.”
What is Dwight Howard doing this summer?
“He is working out. He spent some time with Hakeem Olajuwon. Some of those guys just need to rest and continue to work on their game. His offensive repertoire and the things he wants to get better at are the things he continues to work on.”
Do the Heat’s summer moves send a signal to all the other teams?
“Our objective to start the season is to win an NBA title, period and end of story. Whether it goes to the Lakers, Miami, Cleveland, Boston; in order to win an NBA Title, you have to beat every team. You have to be the last team standing. I’m not necessarily sure that our guys are somewhere shaking in their boots concerned about what Miami is doing. Our guys are more concerned about what the Orlando Magic is doing and how we are going to progress moving forward. We have some tough, competitive-minded guys who can’t wait for the opportunity to compete.”
Did Coach Van Gundy have any influence on the Redick decision?
“Stan has influence on all of our basketball decisions. It is hard to make a decision without the input of your head coach. At the end of the day, when this summer is over, I’m going to sit back down and he is going to stand up. He is the one who is going to have to coach the team, not necessarily me. We talk quite often and he has learned how to text. We talk enough to get our points across.”
Did you have action from other teams when the Redick offer came about?
“Sure. There are always opportunities to move players to lessen the tax burden. As I said before, those opportunities exist; however, we don’t want to take a step back talent-wise either. It’s about keeping our team intact in order to compete for a title, not necessarily to compete in the regular season or in the division.
On what is going to happen with the remaining roster spot:
“I don’t know what is going to happen there. I think we are going to sit still for a week or so, let some things shakeout and let the movement continue to move around the league. There is a list of a few guys that we like, one including Jason Williams, if the opportunity presents itself to come here. There is a list of other guys we really like at that spot. There is really not a hurry.”
Opening Statement:
“He’s staying.”
Was it complicated because of the money to decide to retain J.J. Redick?
“It was complicated but we started talking about what we are trying to do here and how we are trying to do it. It came down to me, (thinking about) pedigree, DNA and things that most people don’t think about, guys who are winners. You want to keep as many of those guys around in your program as you possibly can. It was less about the money for me and more about keeping a guy we’ve had around our organization for the past four years here.”
How has Redick been an asset to the Magic?
“He’s made himself a better player every year. I’ve watched him grow from the frustration of not playing his rookie year to basically pushing himself to play as much as he possibly can and get better every year. As I’ve said before, you can’t have enough guys on your roster that their core is just winning. Losing actually bothers them and he is one of those guys that just at his core he is a winner. So, you want to keep him around as long as you possibly can.”
When did Redick find out he was staying in Orlando?
“I have not talked to J.J. Stan (Van Gundy) made him aware last night.”
When was the decision made?
“We made a decision yesterday. The folks from Grand Rapids pretty much supported me from day one. They told me to do what I think is in the best interest of this team long-term. As I said last time I was sitting right here, I can’t ask for a better ownership group than we have in the DeVos family. We are trying to move an organization forward and continue our quest for an NBA Title.”
Did you have a green light from the start or was there some debate money-wise?
“There is always some debate money-wise. When the offer came out on Saturday, Bob (Vander Weide) had an initial conversation and then we talked again on Wednesday. There is always some debate in regards to what the financials look like over the long run.”
On the tax costing the Magic much more:
“When you figure in the tax, it is a big number to chew off of over the life of the deal. But when you look at all of our contracts, who is coming off when and the flexibility we have, you have to remain somewhat flexible to do other things regardless of what it looks like right now.”
Have you made an offer to Matt Barnes?
“No, I have not.”
Have you talked to other players?
“We’ve had brief conversations, nothing concrete.”
How do your moves trickle down to the fans?
“If I’m a fan, I would think our fans should be excited about us doing everything we can possibly can to win and not necessarily looking at it from the other end of teams that are holding money for the year 2012 free agency. We are trying to win right now, so if I’m a fan, I’m more excited about that.”
How more flexible is your Magic considering the amount you are willing to pay over the next few years?
“The fact that we have players that other teams want makes you pretty flexible. Is it possible to get off contracts and move a little bit less money? Sure, but my thing is not to get off talent. At the end of the day, our goal is our goal is our goal. And our goal to start this season is no different than our goal to start last and that is to become NBA Championships. In order to do that, you have to have a talented roster. I think our roster competes with any other roster in the league.”
What do you think about J.J from where he was four years ago to where he is now?
“His DNA is a winner. He is going to work all he can to get better and that is what he has done. He has gotten better year after year just because he is not afraid to put in the work. Every guy in this league, if they are not top five picks in the draft, goes through a period of time in their career where they want to be traded. That’s not uncommon. But what we are trying to do is build a team and understand that there is a process, particularly in young guys that don’t understand the process, that sometimes it’s better in the long run for them not to play so often and to continue to work and get better. He has done everything we have asked him to do and then some and things that we haven’t asked him to do because that is just how he is built. He is a winner.”
About J.J. wanting to be traded early on in his career:
“He and I laugh about it loud. His agent and I laugh about it now. Back to what he was to what he has made himself become – he has made himself into a better basketball. We kind of snicker about it now because he put in the work and got better. It is really harder to keep him off the court than it was not playing him.”
Do you see yourself making any more moves this summer?
“I can answer that and say that I think our roster is set but there is a lot of movement or potential movement in our league right now. You never stop working in this business, so I would never say never.”
What is the process of retaining a player?
“You send it to the league, the agent, the other team and the player.”
How will the Magic be better next season compared to this past season?
“I think we have better players and I think the players we brought in our better. I think a year with our guys, regarding some of the guys we brought in last year, you look at our track record and understand that it takes a guy a year to get fully equipped with who he is and how he is coached. So I think Brandon (Bass) will have a better year and I think Vince (Carter) will have a better year. We brought in better quality talent in our reserve roles so I think those things are going to be good.”
Did your decision have anything to do with the new arena and starting off successfully?
“Well I think it has to do with winning. I don’t know if we add those two equations together. Everything we do is with the goal of trying to win basketball games and not trying to go backwards. We are really trying to win a title and that is something this city should be proud of.”
When did you make the decision not to pursue Matt Barnes and what were the factors?
“We looked at everything as it relates to our team and in some areas as to how we can get better. We looked at that as it relates to Quentin (Richardson), as it relates to Matt and as it relates to J.J. We are trying to improve our talent in other ways so it came down to out of those three which two we would bring in. Quentin is a little bit of a better skills player and has some the similar toughness that Matt has and then J.J and all the things I said before. We liked Matt for what he brought to the table but sometimes you have to make decisions that are best for your decision long term.”
What is Dwight Howard doing this summer?
“He is working out. He spent some time with Hakeem Olajuwon. Some of those guys just need to rest and continue to work on their game. His offensive repertoire and the things he wants to get better at are the things he continues to work on.”
Do the Heat’s summer moves send a signal to all the other teams?
“Our objective to start the season is to win an NBA title, period and end of story. Whether it goes to the Lakers, Miami, Cleveland, Boston; in order to win an NBA Title, you have to beat every team. You have to be the last team standing. I’m not necessarily sure that our guys are somewhere shaking in their boots concerned about what Miami is doing. Our guys are more concerned about what the Orlando Magic is doing and how we are going to progress moving forward. We have some tough, competitive-minded guys who can’t wait for the opportunity to compete.”
Did Coach Van Gundy have any influence on the Redick decision?
“Stan has influence on all of our basketball decisions. It is hard to make a decision without the input of your head coach. At the end of the day, when this summer is over, I’m going to sit back down and he is going to stand up. He is the one who is going to have to coach the team, not necessarily me. We talk quite often and he has learned how to text. We talk enough to get our points across.”
Did you have action from other teams when the Redick offer came about?
“Sure. There are always opportunities to move players to lessen the tax burden. As I said before, those opportunities exist; however, we don’t want to take a step back talent-wise either. It’s about keeping our team intact in order to compete for a title, not necessarily to compete in the regular season or in the division.
On what is going to happen with the remaining roster spot:
“I don’t know what is going to happen there. I think we are going to sit still for a week or so, let some things shakeout and let the movement continue to move around the league. There is a list of a few guys that we like, one including Jason Williams, if the opportunity presents itself to come here. There is a list of other guys we really like at that spot. There is really not a hurry.”
