This offseason for the Sixers turned out pretty good, despite not landing LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, or Kawhi Leonard. However, it could have been worse if they did not retain sharpshooter J.J. Redick in free agency.
On his podcast called ‘The J.J. Redick Podcast’, Redick explained how he almost signed with the Indiana Pacers over the Sixers.
“I almost signed with Indy. I was an hour away, two hours away. I was very close. I had a 5 p.m. deadline. Basically, it was 12:30, 1 o’clock in the afternoon when Philly changed the offer.”
As we now know, the Sixers and Redick agreed to a one-year deal worth $12.25 million.
Therefore, it was imperative for the Sixers to bring back the veteran shooter by any means necessary, especially since they failed to land a star.
Last season, Redick gave the Sixers something they haven’t had in years, which was a legitimate threat from the outside. The 34-year-old shooting guard was influential in helping Philadelphia reach the playoffs and had a few big games in the playoffs.
What did Redick do last season with the Sixers?
Redick averaged a career-high 17.1 points and shot from 46 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range on 6.6 attempts per game. He provided the Sixers a consistent outside scoring presence and leadership on the court.
Since the Pacers could not get Redick, they opted to sign Chester, Pennsylvania native Tyreke Evans to a similar contract (one-year, $12 million).
Later in the podcast, Redick went further in-depth on what his mindset was heading into free agency.
“Then, you have to go out and get a contract offer,” he said (h/t Indy Star). “In the back of my mind I’m thinking well, if something happens where I can’t go back to Philly, and the market dries up, what do you do?”
Redick is correct in his thinking because say if the Sixers didn’t bring him back for whatever reason, he needs to have a backup plan. However, another contending team would have jumped on the opportunity to sign him quickly.
Thankfully, the Sixers got the deal done with Redick. Let’s see if he along with the other players on the team can make a deep playoff run next season.
