Appearing on the Sixers Beat podcast Friday evening, JJ Redick spoke pretty candidly about his time in Philadelphia. Touching on the head coaching situation, the team’s front office, and even what led to his eventual departure, Redick had quite a bit to say.
“It’s always easy to blame certain people, but I would love to play for Brett again. I don’t think Brett is the problem, if there’s a problem.”
“I got the sense that they wanted to be bigger… It was sort of inevitable that they would have what I would call an uneven regular season.”
“We’re all aware of [the criticism surrounding Brett Brown], right? I know there’s some level of – I don’t know what the word is – maybe animosity? And displeasure?”
Redick’s comments reveal a lot about both himself and the inner-workings of the Sixers. For starters, JJ made it very clear that he did want to return to Philly this past offseason. Regardless of if money was an issue or not, Elton Brand and the rest of the 76ers front office decided to let Redick walk in free agency. Ultimately choosing to spend their remaining cap space on PF/C Al Horford.
What most fans already knew, has now become reality. The Sixers blatantly prioritized “size” over “shooting” this past summer. A decision that has led to an excess of struggles during the 2019-2020 season.
Second, Redick somewhat surprisingly spoke quite highly of Brett Brown. Clarifying some of the comments Jimmy Butler and himself made on a previous podcast, Redick stated that Brown isn’t the one to blame. While a lot of Sixers fans might disagree with this idea, having a current NBA player openly express his support of an ex-coach speaks volumes.
Overall, it seemed overtly obvious that Redick was placing less blame on Brown for the Sixers’ struggles this year, and more blame on Elton Brand and the rest of the Philly front office. However, the open discussion on everyone being “aware” of the frustrations surrounding Brown as a coach likely points to an eventual firing. If word has traveled all the way to New Orleans, it’s unlikely the rest of the NBA doesn’t also know what’s coming for Brett.
The Sixers have a lot of tough decisions to make this upcoming offseason, regardless of how a potential postseason plays out. Redick’s comments simply further amplify what has been labeled as a dysfunctional front office relationship in Philadelphia. Hopefully sooner rather than later, the organization can find a way to put an end to the negativity surrounding both their coach and GM.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
