Getty JJ Redick of the Philadelphia 76ers
JJ Redick spent two years with the Philadelphia 76ers as their designated sharpshooter, where he put up his highest scoring averages in his entire career – averaging 17.1 points his first season, then 18.1 the next – but left after the 2018-19 season to sign with the New Orleans Pelicans.
In an appearance with “Fresh 24 With Marc Zumoff,” Redick explained what his mindset was when he entered free agency, admitting that he wanted to stay with the Sixers.
“I would have stayed with the team. I wanted to stay with the team. That was my mindset going into free agency that year,” Redick said.
Redick added why he believes the Sixers’ opted not to re-sign him, and how he feels about their choice not to keep him around.
“I think the thought process, going into that free agency, was like, ‘We got to beat the Raptors’, which was weird because we all knew Kawhi (Leonard) was leaving, and so they sign out, and they saw Josh (Richardson) and (Al) Horford, or we got to beat the Celtics potentially because they got big wings. I think that hurt me in free agency, which is fine. They went in (the) opposite direction. I have no ill will towards anyone about that. Teams have to make decisions, players have to make decisions.”
JJ Redick’s Thoughts on Potentially Running it Back
Redick was asked if the Sixers could have run it back with their squad with him and Jimmy Butler, who left for the Miami Heat the following offseason, had they advanced past the Toronto Raptors.
“I think there’s a more likely outcome where we run it back essentially. Even if we had just made the conference finals. I think that’s (a) more likely outcome that we run it back, but you never know,” Redick said.
Redick added that it was not a sure thing that they would have run it back, knowing all the factors that go into a team’s performance.
“You never know that. Look, the thing about our sport is that it’s not played on paper. It’s played on the court. It’s played in locker rooms. The interpersonal stuff is so important and the dynamic between different players is so important. So potentially, yeah, they would have run it back, but potentially they wouldn’t have. I don’t know. I think if we win a championship, they’d have no choice, but to run it back, and, you know, again, you’re talking about a year where Klay (Thompson) gets hurt. Kevin Durant gets hurt, so maybe they don’t get hurt. Maybe we lose. I don’t know.”
JJ Redick Responds to Doc Rivers’ Harsh Words
Redick played for Sixers head coach Doc Rivers during his days with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2013 to 2017. Rivers had some harsh words for those teams, saying that they were never going to win while explaining why to ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
“I’m not trying to take anything away from that team, but that team was never going to win when you look back at it. We just didn’t get along well enough as a group, and you can’t win without cooperation. That’s the only way you can win,” Rivers said.
In response, Redick said Rivers deserves some accountability for why those teams never won while talking with former teammate Jamal Crawford.
“I thought it was weird,” Redick said. “To not get any of that accountability from him, and the interesting part, too, is he’s talking about players getting along, and he was brought in…Doc’s reputation was like as a personality manager…and he was a GM, so like if people weren’t getting along, I don’t know, it’s kind of on (Doc).”