The L.A. Clippers had another early NBA Playoff exit this season, this time at the hands of the Utah Jazz but mainly because of the foot injury to their star power forward Blake Griffin. The early exit means a lot more time to discuss the big summer that lies ahead for the team, including the free agency decisions of Griffin, Chris Paul, and J.J. Redick.
The sharpshooting guard out of Duke in Redick had a career year from behind the three-point arc, making a total of 201 three-pointers on the season, eclipsing his previous mark of 200 done in both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Redick is expected to demand a contract that pays him about $18-20 million per year. While Griffin and Paul will likely get max-contract offers from the team, Redick's number, according to Turner, is a number that the Clippers will not be able to match. That being said, L.A. will not rule out re-signing Redick if the price is right.
Redick will be 33 by the time he hits free agency, and although there is market for a sniper like him, it'll be tough to find a better situation at his asking price. The Clippers will also be reluctant to pay that amount considering the playoff series they just went through that borderline exposed major weaknesses in the roster. For one, the team had no length at the shooting guard and small forward positions, something head coach Doc Rivers addressed in his end-of-season media availability last week.
Doc Rivers on what the Clippers need most this summer to take them to the next level. pic.twitter.com/kgvrkCC63D
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 3, 2017
“We need length,” Rivers said at the media availability. “We need more length and two-way players. Again, that's easy to say. Little harder to do with the way our contracts are. We may continue to do what we've done or we may decide to change our contracts and have more flexibility.”
Redick doesn't bring a lot of length or defense to the team, but he does bring a shooting aspect that no one on the Clippers has, so a compromise could be beneficial to both parties.
Free agency is set to begin July 1.
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