J.J. Redick Says He Turned Down More Money from Rockets to Play for 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers guard J.J. Redick discussed his free-agency experience on his new UNINTERRUPTED podcast released Wednesday, saying the Houston Rockets offered him more total money but not a role he wanted.

"It wasn't about the money. Houston offered me more money than Philly. Total money. They offered me more money," Redick said (h/t Michael Kaskey-Blomain of 247Sports). "I knew in Houston, I was going to come off of the bench. Me and Eric Gordon do a lot of the same things... It wasn't necessarily going to be what I wanted at this point in my career for the court part of it."

Redick, 33, signed a one-year, $23 million contract with the Sixers earlier this month.

It's unclear what the Rockets' total offer was, but it was almost certainly not at that salary level on a per-year basis. The Rockets likely offered him a multiyear package at a market-value salary that would have guaranteed him more total money.

Redick should slot into the Sixers' starting lineup next to No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz in the backcourt. He and Amir Johnson each signed one-year contracts this offseason, with Philly emphasizing short-term pacts for veteran leaders who can help its young roster make a potential playoff push.

"There was one moment where I didn't allow the cameras (for UNINTERRUPTED's documentary on his free-agent process) and I wandered out to Brooklyn Bridge Park," Redick said (h/t Mitchell Gladstone of CSN Philly). "It was at the point in time where I was like, 'Man, I'm not gonna get years.'

"And you have to understand something, for basically 14 months since last season ended, I've envisioned this contract, and the contract wasn't about the second number. It wasn't about 50 or 60 or 70 or 80. It wasn't about that. It was about that first number—three or four [years]."

Redick spent the last four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 15.0 points and 2.6 triples in 78 regular-season games last year while shooting 42.9 percent from three-point range. After arriving in Los Angeles having never averaged 15 points per game, Redick averaged at least that much in every year with the Clippers.

The Rockets, meanwhile, likely looked at Redick as a sign-and-trade target with the Clippers, with whom they already worked to acquire Chris Paul.