Redick's Address New Orleans Media

Half an Hour of Q & A with local media

"Just living in New Orleans....I'm very excited about it".

https://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/co...k-june-11-2019

And some thought he was going to back out of deal because he was not at press conference at beginning of month. Sounds like all is good. No panic. He is happy here!

Here's the transcript of key moments in this. I have not transcribed stuff which is basically just the stuff he said on his last podcast, because I already transcribed all of that here on the forum.

Griffin: ''JJ was one loud noisy statement that this is not the Pelicans organisation that people have come to know.''

JJ: ''To be honest with you, Jrue is somebody that I've always wanted to play with. His ability on both ends of the floor would really make me a better player, and when David kinda came out publicly around the draft lottery and kind of indicated that Jrue would be sticking around, that was exciting to me. And then, we have enough friends in the NBA where we can kind of connect with each other by just reaching out to a couple of people and Jrue and I were able to speak, and we both professed our admiration for each other and an excitement for what was going on in New Orleans. Jrue made it clear that love to play with me.''

What are some examples of how you can help with mentoring the young players?

''I feel like I've been mentoring young guys for a long time. It isn't just something that has happened in Philly. It's something I've really enjoyed doing, and the first opportunity that I've had to do that was my last year in Orlando, and E'twaun Moore was on that team, a young player in the league, and he was one of the guys that I tried to help, y'know, Kyle O'Quinn, Nik Vucevic, Mo Harkless, those are all the guys that I kinda 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 and I'm a firm believer that the best way to lead and the best way to mentor is through action. So first of all, just the way I go about my business, the way I go about my craft, is an example for everyone. And then my style of leadership is not someone that comes in and starts barking. I enjoy one-on-one interactions, and I look forward to getting to know all the young guys and obviously re-connecting with E'twaun, and Jrue, and all the older players.''

You have the league's longest active play-off streak. What does it mean to come into a team that's challenging to make the playoffs, but isn't exactly guaranteed to make the post-season?

''I think it's really about creating a winning environment. You know there was no expectation for us to make the playoffs my first year in Philly, and we ended up getting the 3 seed and winning 52 games. Obviously a lot of that had to do with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but I think I can augment any culture and help create a winning environment. 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 will be in the playoffs next year.''

JJ reiterated the importance of keeping an open mind, talked a little about the concerns he had making the decision to uproot his family from Brooklyn to come down to New Orleans, etc. Shamit Dua asked a question of Griff regarding Zion being pulled out of the USA Select Team, and Griff essentially just said that it was a case of, given how shaken up life is after the college season ends and you're essentially frozen in limbo until you're drafted, it was important for him to give Zion the opportunity to really come down to New Orleans and settle, rather than jumping from the draft into Summer League and then from Summer League into travelling with Team USA and then from Team USA into New Orleans, etc etc. JJ added to that, saying that he basically agrees that when he was a rookie he just wanted to get to Orlando, get settled in, adjust to the new location, hang out with his new teammates and let the training staff really start his journey, so he totally understands Griff and Zion's decision to pull out of USA Select.

How much of Zion did you actually get to watch at Duke?

''Yeah, I was probably able to watch this Duke team more than any other team that I can remember since I've been a pro. I probably watched 8 or 10 games, [sound dipped] and all the tournament games, and I think he's a generational talent. I think, in watching him, I always thought ''yeah, he needs more shooting around, they need more shooting around him'', and I didn't actually think at the time that that would be me. 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, obviously, he 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.''

Did you have any preconceived notions about New Orleans, as far as the franchise, the city, etc?

''Well, my perception of the organisation changed back in April, when they hired Griff. [Sound dipped]... I saw, sort of the way Griff was manoeuvring, and just having the sort of conversations during free agency, realising just how much was being invested, you know, with Mrs Benson and the team, that I just felt like everything was heading in the right direction. It wasn't that I had a negative pre-conceived notion of the organisation or anything like that, but 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, I'm a lover of culture and New Orleans has an incredible culture. Everybody brings up food first, but I realise there's a lot more to that in terms of music and art, and people, and history, and I did mention that of all the NFL teams, the Saints have one of the most rabid fanbases and we're hoping to bring that same level of energy and excitement to the Pelicans.''

The best part of that interview was Redicks daughter trying to get her dad’s attention.
Him whispering “I love you too”

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

The best part of that interview was Redicks daughter trying to get her dad’s attention.
Him whispering “I love you too”

I think both of his kids were there, it was really funny. I think at the end of the interview, they were asking if anyone had any questions left, and it was pretty clear that 90% of the people were just holding back cause they realised Redick probably just wanted to get back to his kids and stuff, and then out of nowhere, Fletcher Mackel with another question holding everything up :hihi:

You could almost hear everyone on the call let out that ''...come on, man'' sigh at once.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

The best part of that interview was Redicks daughter trying to get her dad’s attention.
Him whispering “I love you too”

Been there...

Getting JJ reminds me of the saints getting Scott Fujita back in the day. Just a class person to lead the culture by example.