LA Clippers: J.J. Redick hints at wanting to re-sign in L.A.

J.J. Redick has said he’d like to play four more years in the NBA, and hinted at wanting to re-sign with the LA Clippers in free agency next summer.

2017 NBA free agency is the biggest in the LA Clippers‘ history. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will both likely opt to test the market, and the potential of one or even both of them leaving is a scary thought for fans. In addition to the superstar duo that have brought Lob City to life and turned the Clippers into a perennial 50+ win team, their star shooting sidekick, J.J. Redick, will also be a free agent.

While he may not be the superstar that has the power to determine the future of the franchise like Griffin can, Redick is vital to the Clippers’ offense. He suits the heavy pick-and-roll style perfectly as a threat moving off-ball, and his constant movement in and out of screens and league-best 47.5 percent three-point shot makes him a deadly weapon to count on from distance.

The Clippers and their fans should want Redick to re-sign next summer. And there may be some promise in that regard, with Redick hinting this week at possibly wanting to do just that on The Jonah Keri Podcast at Nerdist:

"“My point is, these have been the best years of my career. I have had more fun here [in L.A.] than anywhere else. I would like to continue that beyond this next season, because my contract is up.”"

Sure, Redick didn’t say, “I want to re-sign with the Clippers”. He could have been saying that he wants to just continue to have fun with wherever his NBA career takes him next. But simply by judging the way he spoke and how he referenced his time in L.A. as the best years of his career, giving him more fun than anywhere else, it’s easy to assume that “I would like to continue that,” at least hints at his interesting in re-signing with the Clippers.

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From the relationships he’s built over the last three years to having the three highest scoring seasons of his career, also setting a career-high in three-point percentage in each of the last two years, there’s a lot of incentive to stay. Plus, L.A. is L.A.

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Redick was talking about the Clippers’ personalities with Keri, from Paul, to Griffin, to Doc Rivers. Redick said that they’re often overly scrutinized and focused on at times, but did say it’s always something that can trouble a team.

Redick didn’t say it’s something the Clippers have an issue with as they’re such a tight-knit group, but said that the team’s focus now is to be “clutter free”, as in totally free of any distractions or pressure. As a result, they can play with more freedom on the court:

"“But there’s always factors. I think the best way to sum it up would be how do we, as the Clippers, get to ‘clutter free’? Doc talks about it all the time. But how do we get to clutter free? I don’t think we’re there yet. The Warriors have been clutter free for two years. They’re the epitome of clutter free… Like, Steph Curry is the freest of all life forms… It’s magic. He’s just a free spirit out on the court, and so how do you get to that point as a group? That’s the challenge we have.”"

The Golden State Warriors, despite their loss of a 3-1 series lead in this year’s NBA Finals, are a great example of that. Perhaps they got a little too free as LeBron James led a herculean comeback effort for the ages, but the Warriors and Stephen Curry‘s style is something the Clippers can strive for.

“I would rather be really close and hopefully catch a break than be five or six moves away,” Redick added. He also said that he’d like to play for four more seasons and reach 15 years in the NBA.

Next: It's time to stagger Griffin's and Paul's minutes

He knows a bunch of trades aren’t needed for his team to break through. The Warriors are formidable to pass in the West no matter what adjustments could be made. Hopefully, he continues with that mindset and seeks to pursue success past 2017 with the LA Clippers.

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