Introductory Conference Call
JJ Redick, New Orleans Pelicans
Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Opening Statement:
David Griffin: “Hey guys, so thank you very much for joining us this morning. This is David Griffin. I wanted to tell you how excited we are. First of all, to be able to announce, I suppose officially here today with you all JJ Redick’s presence with us. JJ was as many of you know, the top target for us and free agency and I think really from the time that I started with the Pelicans and met with Alvin Gentry for the first time we had a very keen awareness that the ideal player for us was someone very much like JJ Redick and we never really dreamed that we would be able to land the JJ Redick. So, this is an exciting thing for us. Um, Trajan Langdon played a very large role in that. Trajan will not be with us on the call today, but I did want to point out that Trajan’s relationship with JJ I think had a lot to do with JJ’s interest in our situation, or rather his trust in our vision, maybe is a better way to put it. Obviously, JJ coming off of a career-best season from a scoring perspective shows that he has a lot left in the tank.

The thing that excited us the most about JJ, even beyond all of the player related situations on the court was the human being that he is off of it. The fact that he has the ability to be such a special mentor for our young guys in the form of a player who will have nothing but sweat equity. His basketball lineage speaks for itself, his accomplishments speak for themselves and our guys are going to see him very much as a peer who goes about things exactly the right way professionally. So, that really spoke to us. I think we feel like JJ was one more sort of loud, noisy statement that this is not the Pelicans organization that people came to know. He continued our momentum throughout free agency for us, something that we were actually able to continue to build on as well. So again, just couldn’t be more thrilled to present JJ Redick today for all your questions and without further ado, we’ll open it up.”

Just curious as to what went into the decision-making and how serious were the Pelicans from the outset. Was this the team that you expected to go to, or was this more of a surprise as the process went on?
Redick: “Yeah, first of all, I’d like to apologize for being a couple minutes late on joining the call. I somehow I got stuck with both kids right now and the service where I’m at is terrible, so I had to find a spot, but I apologize for that. So, in response to your question no, and as everybody knows by now, NBA free agency in 2019 happened very quickly and you kind of get a notion a couple weeks out of which teams are interested. When I’d heard that the Pelicans were interested – take away any sort of number on a contract – I was immediately excited. I thought with getting Zion (Williamson) and knowing that they would be making a trade, and with having Jrue Holiday there, I felt like it was a team with a lot of momentum. I’ve known Alvin (Gentry) a long time. I played for him with the Clippers. So there was that familiarity. Obviously, David’s reputation speaks for itself and obviously my relationship with Trajan as well, who I’ve known for almost 20 years what played a huge role in that too and just in terms of the initial excitement about coming to New Orleans.”

You spoke on your podcast about the Jrue Holiday’s role and you coming to New Orleans, I wonder how you and Jrue were able to kind of develop a relationship. Were you all able to talk early in free agency and how do you think your game and just game kind of mesh on the court?
Redick: “Well, to be honest with you Jrue is somebody that I’ve always wanted to play with. His ability on both ends of the floor really would make me a better player. When David kind of came out publicly around the draft lottery and kind of indicated that Jrue would be sticking around, that was exciting to me. Then we actually, we have enough friends in the NBA where, we can kind of connect with each other by just reaching out to a couple people and Jrue and I were able to speak. We both professed our admiration for each other and also just an excitement about what was going on in New Orleans. Jrue made it clear that he would love to play with me.”

David Griffin spoke about you mentoring the young guys, something you did a lot in Philly. What are a few specific examples of what you can do as a veteran with the young guys on a daily basis?
Redick: “Yeah, well I feel like I’ve been mentoring young guys for a long time. It hasn’t been something that just happened in Philly. It’s something that I really enjoy doing. The first opportunity that I really had to do that was my last year in Orlando. E’Twaun Moore was on that team. Young player in the league he was one of the guys that I tried to help. Kyle O’Quinn, Nik Vucevic, Mo Harkless, those are all the guys that, you know, I kind of gravitated to and helped. It’s something that I’ve taken a lot of pride in ever since then. So, I’m very excited about this opportunity in New Orleans. I am a firm believer that the best way to lead and the best way to mentor is through action. So, just first of all the way I go about my business, the way I go about my craft is an example for everyone. My style of leadership is not someone that comes in and starts barking. I enjoy one on one interactions and look forward to getting to know all the young guys and obviously reconnecting with E’Twaun and Jrue and all the older players.”

Griffin: “If I could just speak to something JJ said, the mentoring thing is something he’s done for quite a while, I believe is what he said. My first opportunity to see that JJ probably doesn’t even remember this: at the 2002 McDonald’s All-American game, I was at all the practices and JJ was going through his routine of shooting the ball down on one far end of the gym and Amar’e Stoudemire walked in and sort of surveyed the situation and he watched what JJ was doing and he immediately gravitated towards JJ because it was really clear JJ had a routine and that spoke to Amar’e. Amar’e is somebody who I came to know very, very well once we drafted him and he was, he was drawn to the fact that even then JJ was a true pro, and players of extreme talent always recognize when somebody has something that they care about. So, JJ has always been that guy to the very best players and that was something that I’ve always remembered and I’ve held onto that.”

Redick: “Thank you, David. I don’t remember that, but thank you.”

This stage of your career and considering your history of having never missed the playoffs, it is an interesting spot for you: I suppose coming into a team that from outside in is challenging to make a playoff spot, definitely not expected to make one this season. What does that change for you as far as entering the year and what do you think from a responsibility standpoint that requires of you in order to get a team into the postseason?
Redick: “I think it’s just about creating a winning environment. There was no expectation for us to make the playoff my first year in Philly. We ended up getting a three seed and winning 52 games. Obviously, a lot of that had to do with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. But, I can augment any culture and help create a winning environment and my expectation is that we are going to be in the playoffs. I don’t think I would be going to a team that I thought had no chance to make the playoffs. My expectation is that we’ll be in the playoffs next year.”

Obviously, when you were with the Clippers, you were part of changing the culture there and bringing sustained winning to LA and then you went to Philadelphia obviously when they were going through the whole process and you all won when you go there. Coming here now, is it by coincidence or design that you seem to find the situations where you can change an organization for the better? Do you seek that out or is it just coincidence what happened in LA and Philadelphia?
Redick: “Well, L.A. had been in the playoffs the prior two years and I think they had actually made the second round in one of those years. Post Chris Paul’s trade, I think it was two years with that group when that group were together before I got there. I do think that it is much more coincidence than me seeking something out. I said this publicly a ton of times, and I’ll kind of repeat it in the most concise way that I know how. But, when you’re a free agent, you really have to weigh sort of everything that’s in front of you and you can only weigh what’s in front of you. You can’t weigh a hypothetical and you’re presented with option A, option B, option C, and the things you value: winning, culture, obviously the contract itself. For us it’s been proximity to our home in Brooklyn. Those are things that you all weigh and so you have to sort of go through all those things. But at the core of it, at the heart of it, there has to be a level of excitement about choosing a place. I’ve been very fortunate the past three times that I’ve been a free agent and that I’ve chosen places that I was initially super excited about going to. Whether it was the Clippers, whether it was Philly and now New Orleans. I’ve just been very fortunate that I’ve landed in this situation.”

David, this is a question for you. Yesterday it was announced that a Zion Williamson is pulling out of team USA training camp. Can you walk us through that decision and what is sort of the training plan with him going into the preseason and the regular season?
Griffin: “I’d be glad to do that. I think ultimately the idea behind it was – and JJ has been here before – when you first get to the league, there’s a lot going on that you’ve never been exposed to and that first year is really critical in terms of your ability to find comfort level heading into training camp. We just wanted him to get into a situation where he could find a routine here in New Orleans, find a rhythm with how his life and the game sort of mesh and learn what it’s going to look like to be a professional here. We really didn’t believe you could do that moving from Vegas, to being on the road with Team USA, and then landing here in New Orleans, and then scrambling to get your life in order. We really wanted to give him a comfort level with what life in New Orleans would look like as his base heading into this first season. JJ can speak to how important it is as a rookie to be comfortable.”

Redick: “Yeah, I mean I was able to participate in the USA training camp that summer, but knew I wasn’t going to play because of the back injury. But again, for me it’s really about getting down to Orlando as quickly as possible. When you finish up at school and there’s that three month waiting period before the draft, your life really is in limbo. For me it was about feeling settled, getting down to Orlando, getting the training staff’s hands on me, getting to work with the coaches, and getting to know my teammates and just being as immersed as possible with the organization. I totally agree with Griff and there’s a lot of value to that.”

I’m sure you’re aware of this, but you know, it’s very rare for elite shooters to remain at the leader level you’ve been at, deep in their career. I wonder what you’ve been able to maintain that level and understanding, how rare it is, what you’re doing, how much that kind of motivates you on a day to day basis.
Redick: “Yeah, I think the first thing is there’s no substitute for hard work. The second thing is, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized there’s no substitute for hard work. The third thing is I feel like I’ve always been adaptive and kept an open mind and whether that’s how I train, or my role on the team I realized that can change and even within a season. I really found joy in the game of basketball and training. I’m always looking for ways to get better and ways to sort of gain an advantage. I’ve tried to do that and you know, I’ve told this story before, but when, you know, we talk about mentoring and a guide for me with Steve Nash, um, you know, right before I turned 30 years old, I asked him to have coffee with me and we sat down for two hours and he gave me some incredible tidbits about what training is like after the age of 30. He’s one of the few guys you can talk about. Him and (John) Stockton would be another guy who played at a high level, will in his thirties. That is certainly a challenge and it’s one that I’m continuing to work towards.”

As a father with young kids, aside from having to make the decision to move your family, was there anything else in regards to the Pelicans offer that made you consider perhaps not signing with the team?
Redick: “No. I’m good with the real challenge and the issue was sort of wrapping our head around moving the family and, you know, that’s our plan though. They’ll come down at some point in the fall. We are actively working on the school as we speak. But, we wanted to do this together and originally when we had purchased our home in Brooklyn, it was supposed to be sort of an off-season home. We didn’t realize how much we’d like living there. My wife’s twin sister lives three blocks from us and they have a boy too. So, it’s about sort of raising your family around the rest of your family. It was a hard decision, but you know, my wife and boys – the boys are decked out in Pelicans gear right now, which is kind of sweet. But everybody is super excited to get down there.”

Kind of want to ask the obvious here. Is this a unique situation with all the Duke players on the team as well as a Duke General Manager in Trajan Langdon?
Redick: “Yeah, I think if you give Trajan five or six more good off-season’s we’ll have 12 to 15 duke guys on the team. That’s my expectation. No, it is really unique, and ‘we’ meaning Duke players and Duke coaches and just to me, we always talk about the Brotherhood and it’s very real. We always look out for the each other. I’ve been a teammate of his but even before, Jah (Okafor) was my teammate in Philly for three or four months, him and I had spoken a bunch. Justise Winslow and I speak a bunch. I mean there are a lot of guys go down the path that have played for Duke in the past 15 years. I have a relationship with them and similar to my relationship with Trajan. The guys who played 15 to 20 years before I got there, I have a relationship with. There’s very few guys that we aren’t all friends with. We take that very seriously and, and it’s something that, I think was actually a small factor, but it was part of that excitement was getting the chance to sort of hoop with these guys and mentor them.”

Speaking of Duke they have a lot of passionate fans here in Southeast Louisiana and I don’t want to date myself here, but I remember covering LSU vs Duke 2006 in Atlanta in the Sweet 16. Just for the fans here that obviously still remember that. Is there anything you remember, I know you played hundreds if not thousands of basketball games since then, but that was a huge moment for a program that people have a lot of affinity for beating a prize Duke team. Not to bring up bad memories, but do you have any memories off the top of your head about that game?
Redick: “I really appreciate you bringing up a low point in my life. I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Losses are good, failures are good. That game was crazy. Obviously we were the higher seed and I tell people this all the time they had four NBA players on their team and I actually, if you go back in history, and look at the two rosters, they probably should have won that game. They were defiantly more talented than us. The thing that stands out about that game is Garrett Temple guarding me, me having an off night. He and I have become friends. I think he’s one of the all-time great guys in the NBA. That’s what I remember from the game is just how disappointing it was and you know, to lose in that way in your last college game for a program you grew up rooting for and crying every time they lost in the tournament. And then to have that happen was tough. And it took – it’s actually funny because it took about five or six years for me to really get over that. It bothered me for a long time that I wasn’t able to win a championship at Duke and that game along with the UConn game, when we were in the Final Four were probably the two low points of my college career and, and, but again, you do learn from those moments.”

I figured I might as well stick with the Duke theme. I wonder how much have you actually been able to see Zion during his Duke career and obviously some of high school career and how excited are you to his development here in New Orleans?
Redick: “Yeah, I was able to watch this year’s Duke team probably more than any other team that I can remember since I’ve been a pro. I probably watched eight or 10 games and I didn’t always get to watch the whole game, but watched all the big games and the tournament games. I think he’s a generational talent. I think watching him I’ve thought he needs more shooting around him. I didn’t actually think at the time that that would be me. But, I think he’s one of those players that can make such a huge impact on both sides of the basketball and can dominate a game without taking 20 shots. Now he obviously will have games where he takes 20 shots or 30 shots, but he has such a unique skillset. I think anybody would be excited to play with him and I certainly am.”

I’m just curious if you had any preconceived notions of New Orleans as far as the franchise, the city, anything. Has anything shifted since Griff got there, since your conversation? Basically has your perception of this franchise or the city changed at all just from your very brief interaction with them over the last month?
Redick: “Well, you know, my perception of the organization changed back in April when they hired Griff and later brought on Trajan. I saw sort of the way Griff was maneuvering, and then having certain conversations during free agency, realizing just how much good he has done and how committed Mrs. Benson is to the team. I just felt like everything was headed in the right direction and it wasn’t that I had a negative pre-conceived notion of the organization or anything like that. It was just more neutral and it became much more positive in the last three months. In terms of the city of New Orleans, I talked about this on my podcast last week, but I’m a lover of New Orleans. New Orleans an incredible culture. Everybody brings up food first, but I realized there’s a lot more to that in terms of music and art and people and history. Also, I did mention that, you know, of all sort of the NFL teams, the Saints have one of the most rabid fan bases and we’re hoping to bring that same level of intensity to the Pelicans.”

Did Philadelphia make you an offer? Secondly, looking out how things turned out in the playoffs, do you feel like you guys let one slip away?
Redick: “The first part of the question yes there was an offer made. I would just say that my time in Philly were two of the best years of my career. Love everyone in that organization and have nothing but respect for Josh (Harris) and (David Blitzer). I love all those guys. In regards to the playoffs…yeah. In a way you’re more mad about the in sort of outcome of not winning because of how you lost and at the same time it sort of validated it because they were the team that won and you were that close. But, the rest of the playoffs were tough to watch. I’m such a fan of the game and I watch every playoff game. In some years when you don’t necessarily have a chance to win it all, it can be sort of enjoyable. When you feel you’re in the running and you’re close and you lose in that matter, it’s tough to watch it.”

Are there any restaurants that you have circled or are you just going to kind of feel your way through our food city when you get here?
Redick: “There’s a bunch. I’d have to go to the list. Actually I’ve been getting recommendations from people. Some places I’ve been to, some I haven’t been, but I’m keeping an ongoing note on New Orleans restaurants and, and places I should see. So, I’d have to look into the list, but again going back to just the culture piece and the history. This is going to be so fun for me outside of just playing for this team and playing for this organization and playing for the city. But just living in New Orleans. I’m very excited about it.”