J.J. Redick is leaving the Clippers on the first full day free agents can negotiate with other teams, agreeing to sign a one-year contract worth $23 million with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to an ESPN report.
The 6-foot-4 outside-shooting specialist became the Clippers starting shooting guard after arriving via trade in the summer of 2013 and averaged 15.8 points in four seasons while shooting 44 percent from 3.
With Chris Paul already gone, traded to Houston, Redick’s departure guarantees the Clippers will field an entirely new backcourt when the season opens in October. For now, that looks to be point guard Patrick Beverley and, perhaps, career sixth man Lou Williams, both acquired on Tuesday in the trade with Houston for Paul.
On Saturday, Redick tweeted, “Trust the process,” a nod to former executive Sam Hinkie’s mantra about the Sixers slow but deliberate rebuild. With Redick in place, joining budding superstar Joel Embiid and the No. 1 picks in the last two drafts, Ben Simmons and Markell Fultz, Philadelphia could be poised to make a run at the postseason in the Eastern Conference.
Redick had been a critical piece of the Clippers efforts to break through in the Western Conference, and a fine complement next to Chris Paul in the backcourt. However, as free agency approached it became increasingly clear that Redick was not in the Clippers’ plans and that he was no longer interested in them.
The former Duke star, who previously played for the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks, struggled this year in the playoffs. In a seven-game series loss to the Utah Jazz Redick averaged just 9.1 points and shot just 9-of-26 from 3 while being bullied and outplayed by Joe Ingles, who was cut by the Clippers in training camp two years earlier.
Redick was linked most heavily to either Philadelphia or Brooklyn, where he has a home, although Houston and Minnesota reportedly entered the fray after adding superstars via trade, Paul for the Rockets and Jimmy Butler for Timberwolves.
But Philadelphia won out, with Redick telling ESPN: “It’s where I wanted to be.”
He could have signed a contract for as many as four years, but opted to take more money up front and re-enter the free agent pool again in 2018.
Once Paul informed the Clippers he intended to leave as a free agent if they did not trade him to Houston, the franchise accomplished its next top objective: agreeing on a new contract with All-Star power forward Blake Griffin on Friday evening. The maximum contract, which cannot be signed until the NBA’s moratorium is lifted on July 6, will pay Griffin $173 million over five season.
With Griffin on board, the Clippers were expected to address their hole at small forward. Entering the weekend, their top priorities were Denver forward Danilo Gallinari, Utah’s Ingles and San Antonio’s Jonathan Simmons.
The team only has the $8.4 million mid-level exception left to spend although they could potentially shed salary to sign someone to a heftier contract.