Thanks to NBA Free Agency, J.J. Redick is no longer with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Following a sign and trade involving Chris Paul, the Clippers opened themselves up for big changes via NBA Free Agency. Blake Griffin is returning on a five year deal worth a whopping $175 million, but they couldn’t keep Redick.
This is a sign that they’ll need their guards to step up more than ever. Specifically, they’ll need a large contribution from Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers, and Lou Williams if they expect to run for a playoff berth.
Also, Redick’s deal works incredibly in his favor. With his new team, the guard will be banking $23 million on just a one-year deal. Some might say that the Sixers overpaid for him, but at the end of the day, they won him over.
It may be a summer to forget for fans of the Clippers, but there’s still hope. Redick’s shooting can be supplemented by good defense and bench play. Now that the Clippers have weapons from the deal with the Rockets, they have to hope for the best.
There is still a lot that could play out in free agency as well. Just because Redick and Paul didn’t stay doesn’t mean they can’t splash around.
Thanks to Griffin staying put, the Clippers haven’t lost all of their leverage. If he had also switched teams, it’d be hard to say that they wouldn’t have entered a rebuild phase.
DeAndre Jordan would’ve been the only core player remaining out of that at the time. We all remember the bizarre time when he was a free agent and looked to be headed to Dallas before Los Angeles went to extreme measures to retain him.
Redick will join Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, and Markelle Fultz in what could become a very dangerous Eastern Conference squad.
Next: 15 Free Agent Options For Clippers
While Los Angeles figures things out, here comes Philly.