Last year, Duke phenom J.J. Redick started out his rookie season on the bench with an injury, and he never got off the bench much after that. Anybody who dared to pick him up the later rounds of the draft to place on their bench in case they needed some help in three pointers probably dropped him quickly. Rookies often struggle, and rookies whose game relies heavily on their shot usually struggle even more so.

Now Redick is a sophomore.

The Orlando Magic have added Rashard Lewis to play alongside Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jameer Nelson.

Is J.J. Redick worth a look in the later rounds if you need some three point shooting this year?

In the first three preseason games, Redick has scored a total of 46 points and made 9 three pointers. It’s only the preseason, but 9 three pointers, 8 of them in the last two games, ain’t bad. (After all, the three point line isn’t any closer in the preseason.) He isn’t likely to get anyone much more than points and three pointers (and perhaps FG% and FT% and low turnovers), but with Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard both commanding double teams, he should get easier shots spotted up out along the three point line or just inside.

You’ll probably have to wait and see where he ends up in the rotation, but if he is the starting shooting guard or the first one or two off the bench, he should at least be as valuable as Brent Barry or Kyle Korver (in the top 100 players in the league stats-wise) if not as valuable as Raja Bell or Mike Miller (in the top 50).

I’d keep him on my watch list. Considering that the top 144 players in the league make it on a roster (in a 12 team league), anyone with a likelihood or making in the top 100 and a possibility of making it into the top 50 is worth a serious look, especially since everyone else has forgotten about him.