Philadelphia 76ers: Reacting to 2019 NBA free agency
By Alec Liebsch
J.J. Redick to the Pelicans
Though it would’ve been nice to let J.J. Redick retire a Sixer, it was realistic to see another team pay him a lot. The New Orleans Pelicans did exactly that, giving him a reported $26.5 million over two years.
Redick is a fine player and all, but that’s an overpay at his age, and not a sum the Sixers were going to give him. He is an all-time great shooter who does an excellent job running around screens, but 70-80 percent of what he does can be found at a much cheaper price.
Over two years in Philly, Redick averaged 17.6 points per game on a .449/.407/.899 shooting line. Brett Brown made good use of Jonathan Clay during his time here, running him off Embiid dribble hand-offs ’til kingdom come. His work as a shooter and multi-dimensional cutter will be missed, but it isn’t irreplaceable.
Some team was likely to come in with a good offer, and the Sixers simply couldn’t afford to match. Redick’s synergy with Embiid will be missed, but they can find cheaper iterations of him.
Grade: B- (docked for losing him, but having a walkaway price is justified)