J.J. Redick Aiming To Play Four More Years

Pelicans sharpshooter J.J. Redick turned 36 in June and has just one year left on his current contract with the team, but he’s not thinking about calling it a career when his deal ends next year. As he tells Mark Medina of USA Today, Redick is still hoping to play for several more seasons.

“I realized this year I want to keep playing as long as possible. My goal is to play four more years,” Redick said. “Year 18. That’s my goal. I’ll play to 39. Then my offseason, I’ll turn 40 and then I can walk away at that point. That’s my goal. We’ll see. The body has to hold up.”

The 11th overall pick in the 2006 draft, Redick has already played 14 seasons in the NBA after spending four full years at Duke. However, there’s no indication that he has lost a step as he enters his late-30s.

In 2019/20, Redick averaged 15.3 PPG on .453/.453/.892 shooting in 60 games (26.4 MPG) for New Orleans. All of those scoring and shooting rates were above his career averages. While it’s probably safe to assume he’ll see his minutes cut back to some extent over the next few years, his outside shooting ability should continue to make him a valuable role player for the Pelicans or – eventually – another team.

In his conversation with Medina, Redick praised the Pelicans’ young building blocks – Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Lonzo Ball – and suggested that there’s “a lot of potential and excitement” in New Orleans going forward. However, he admitted he wasn’t satisfied with the way the club’s 2019/20 campaign ended.

“I thought from a talent perspective and a depth perspective, we were a playoff team this year. So not to reach your potential as a team, you have to be disappointed in that,” Redick said. “You obviously have to self-reflect and self-grade with how could I have been better. Down the line, each guy has to do that.”