The Philadelphia 76ers underachieved this past season, and former Sixer J.J. Redick knows at least one reason why: they got rid of him.
The veteran guard criticized the Sixers on RADIO.COM’s “All the Smoke” podcast, pointing to the fact that the organization has failed its young stars like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid by not surrounding them with the right guys and bringing in a revolving door of a supporting cast each year.
“I would love to seem figure out a way to bring in a coach that can get the best out of them and surround them with great personnel,” Redick, who played in Philadelphia from 2017-19, said. “They f—ked not bringing me back, man. They f—ked up not bringing me back.”
"All the Smoke" co-host Matt Barnes pointed out how Redick may not be a star, but he’s a valuable glue guy who can shoot. Redick, who averaged 17.6 points and shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range with the Sixers, added that it is more than what he can bring on the court.
“The thing with me in Philly, it wasn’t just about the shooting,” Redick said. “You need people in the locker room. You need those guys. I’m friends – I was literally texting with Ben and Joel the other day. We don’t consider the relationship part of it as much as we should, and it’s unfortunate.”
Redick, 36, instead signed a two-year deal last summer with the New Orleans Pelicans where he serves as a veteran leader on an up-and-coming young team featuring Zion Williamson.
The Sixers, meanwhile, were outsed by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs and fired head coach Brett Brown, whom they recently decided to replace with Doc Rivers.
Redick enjoyed playing with Embiid and Simmons and while he is no longer part of the team, hopes that they can find success together.
“Both of them are so intelligent and competitive…they’re fun to be around,” Redick said. “But the one consistent in Philly has been personnel in and out. Like, you just have a ton of players that come through there. And so I think — Joel talked about this on my podcast — for him, he’s played with like, I don’t even f–king know at this point, hundreds of teammates. It’s just a rotating cast of teammates, you know?"
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