Pelicans' JJ Redick Says His Goal Is to Play 4 More Seasons, Retire at Age 40

New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard JJ Redick said he's planning to play another handful of years in the NBA. 

Redick, 36, told Mark Medina of USA Today in an interview released Monday his health will likely determine whether he's able to reach that goal.

"I realized this year I want to keep playing as long as possible," he said. "My goal is to play four more years. Year 18. That's my goal. I'll play to 39. Then my offseason, I'll turn 40 and then I can walk away at that point. That's my goal. We'll see. The body has to hold up. But we'll see."

Redick is coming off a strong offensive season for the Pelicans. He averaged 15.3 points and 3.0 threes while shooting 45.3 percent from beyond the arc, which ranked second in the NBA. He also put up 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest across 60 appearances.

His poor defense offset those contributions based on ESPN's Real-Plus Minus, however, which led him to rank 70th overall out of 138 qualified shooting guards in the advanced metric.

The Duke product's two-year, $26.5 million contract runs through the 2020-21 season, so he'll spend another year trying to help New Orleans' budding core transform into a contender in the loaded Western Conference.

Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball give the Pelicans the talent to make some serious noise in the coming years, and the organization also owns the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft to add another building block for the future.

Redick told Medina he expects the team to take another step forward next season:

"I would expect us to compete for a playoff spot next year. There's room to grow. Even for a guy like Brandon Ingram, who won Most Improved Player and was an All-Star this year. He has such a strong desire to be great and to be one of the greats. I know he's going to keep working and keep learning and keep getting better. I would expect Zion to be hungry and in shape. Lonzo had a three-month stretch where he was unbelievable with 15 points a game, seven or eight rebounds per game, seven or eight assists per game and shooting 40-something percent from 3. We get that consistency from him through the course of a season, he's an All-Star level player and a huge difference maker for us.

"You have to build around those three guys and everybody else will continue to develop and get better. Those three guys are going to be the leaders and headliners for the team going forward. They have a lot of potential and excitement."

As for Redick, he'd possess more value in a smaller role where the Pelicans use him as an offensive spark plug for closer to 15 minutes a night rather than the 26.4 he averaged during the 2019-20 season. The more he plays, the more opponents can take advantage of his defensive shortcomings.

New Orleans should have enough depth to take some of the burden off his shoulders, especially if it grabs another guard or wing in the first round of the draft.