That includes the New York Knicks, who in order to compete for a championship, needed to make an impact addition.

Since there weren’t many big names out there on the market, I’m pointing to J.J. Redick, who the Orlando Magic eventually dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Doron Lamb, Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih and a 2012 second-round pick.

The Knicks could have done much better than offer up three mediocre talents that the Magic eventually settled for.

Feb 2, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick (7) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks won 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Of course that would have cost them Iman Shumpert, which would have been tough, but in this case I feel it would have helped the Knicks a great deal to have gone after Redick more aggressively.

Here’s a look at five reasons why the Knicks needed to make a move for Redick or someone else at the deadline.

1. Their window is short: Looking at the Knicks roster as it is constructed right now, their window to compete for a championship is about a two year one, including this season. It makes a lot of sense to go for it now and be in win-now mode than to roll the dice with what the Knicks currently have. I’m not a big fan of his, but Redick would have been an upgrade at the 2 at both ends of the floor. He’s a better player than Shumpert right now and if the goal is winning than a move should have been made.

Also consider the fact that Shumpert is the only player on the roster under the age of 27. Is he really a guy to build around in the future? That’s debatable. As much as I like Shump, he’s a guy coming off a knee injury, doesn’t have a polished offense game and his defense is regressing. Unfortunately Redick does a lot more for this team right now than Shump does.

2. It’s not working: After beginning the season 19-6, the Knicks are only 13-13 over the span of their past 26 games. That’s a large sample size. There is nothing to suggest that this team is capable of competing for a championship right now. However by adding another talented player they might be able to turn things around. Are the Knicks the mediocre team that we have seen the past 26 games during the past 26 or the dominant team we saw the past 25? That seemed like a long time ago and a small shakeup could have helped ignite things.

3. Shooting: Contrary to belief, the Knicks have not been good offensive team as of late. Redick’s 15.1 points, 4.4 assists and 45 percent field goal percentage would have helped a ton. Just look at the Knicks current starters. Shump is shooting an atrocious 32.1 percent from the floor and only 36.4 percent from behind the arc. Jason Kidd, after a nice start, is down to an abysmal 38.9 percent from the floor. Even worse, Kidd is shooting 19.4 percent from the floor in February and is hitting only 16 percent of his three-point attempts, but he is still taking four per game.

The Knicks are getting nothing from their shooting guard and small forward spots, which puts all of the scoring pressure on Carmelo Anthony, who blindly went to management and asked them not to move Shumpert.

Feb 8, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Knicks point guard Iman Shumpert (21) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio (9) in the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Looking at the Knicks perceived scoring depth, Raymond Felton is only shooting 40 percent from the floor and J.R. Smith has fallen under the 40 percent clip. For a team that shoots as many three’s as the Knicks do, the current roster is not a good recipe for winning.

4. Defense: Saying the perimeter defense isn’t good would be an understatement. Shump is playing out of position and he hasn’t been resembling the dominant perimeter defender that we saw a season ago.  Redick is a solid defensive guard and at 28, has younger legs than some of the guys the Knicks run out there. There’s not a big drop off defensively from Shumpert to Redick.

5. Ability to re-sign Redick: Redick has transformed himself into a very good NBA player, one who the Knicks would have had the advantage of re-signing if they would have made the move. The Knicks are already over the tax line, so giving Redick a three-year deal while he is playing his best basketball of his career wouldn’t have been the worst idea. He wouldn’t get a max deal, but the opportunity to add a talented and gritty player for the next three years is something that makes sense, especially since the Knicks window to win is so small.

There’s the chance that we are overvaluing Shumpert right now as we don’t know exactly how good he will be in the upcoming years. The more he struggles, the more his value goes down.

There was an opportunity here to do something with Shumpert to improve the Knicks chances at winning, but unfortunately the Knicks didn’t explore the opportunity.

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While none of the previous ones really excited me, most notably to the Phoenix Suns for Jared Dudley, or to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Luke Ridnour, the latest set of rumors are ones to raise an eyebrow at.

February 10, 2013; Orlando FL, USA; Orlando Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick (7) shoots a three pointer against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 110-104. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld reports that the Knicks and Orlando Magic have discussed a deal involving Iman Shumpert for J.J. Redick.

Kennedy says via Twitter:

The Magic and Knicks have discussed a J.J. Redick for Iman Shumpert trade. Other players (and maybe a third team) would have to be involved. Nothing imminent, but it’s something to keep an eye on over next few days. Redick helps NY win now, Shumpert gives ORL another young piece.

This is an interesting move as it would represent the Knicks wanting to win now. I still would prefer a legitimate big man, but Redick is having a fantastic season, averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 31.6 minutes per game, which are all career-highs for the Duke product. He is also connecting at a 40.2 percent clip from behind the arc this season, which only Steve Novak has a better percentage among current Knicks players.

With as many three’s as the Knicks shoot, it would be nice to add a guy like Redick, who can knock them down with consistency.

He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and while the Magic have said they would be open to re-signing him, his value could go up even more with a strong finish to the season, which ultimately could force the Magic to watch Redick walk and get no compensation in return.

As for Shumpert, he gives a young Magic team another young athletic piece to build around in the future.

He’s averaging 5.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on just 33.8 percent shooting and has seen his role diminish on this current Knicks team. He is just coming back off knee surgery though and it remains to be seen exactly what Shumpert’s role is now, and in the future.

I have been quick to diminish any rumor involving Shump so far, but this Redick rumor is interesting and is something I would think about if the Knicks are indeed trying to win now.

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"What more can I do?" wonders Stan Van Gundy. Glad you asked... (source: Yardbarker.com)

After the Orlando Magic’s loss last night to the Boston Celtics, they’re down a seemingly insurmountable 0-2 and going into enemy territory to play the next two games. The good news? Both losses were close down the stretch. Stan Van Gundy is one of the best coaches in the game, and already he tweaked his line-up a bit after the first game. Seeing how well J.J. Redick performed in the opening stanza, Stan gave him even more run in the second verse, playing him 34 minutes. Yeah, yeah, JJ made the double bone-headed move at the end of the game where he didn’t call timeout as soon as he caught it, and then when he started dribbling he stopped before he crossed mid-court. That said, Redick was again outstanding, and one could equally fault Vince Carter’s free-throw misses or say that the Magic shouldn’t have let themselves get to the point where they needed a last-second save anyway.

Anyway, moving on, what other tweaks can the Magic make? Here are three:

For the rest of my post on the main FanSided page, check out the page here.