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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 26, 2016Paul PierceJ.J. RedickLos Angeles, California Q. Talk about your relationship with Schea. PAUL PIERCE: Well, Schea was a phenomenal athlete when we were young. He was a lot better than me. If anybody back then thought anybody would go to the NBA, everybody pretty much pegged him to be a top pick. He's a player that pretty much kind of drove me. I wanted to be as good as him when we were young, and I'm just happy for what he's been able to do lately over the past year with sharing his story, sharing his documentary, being an inspiration to kids, and I applaud him for that. You know, a guy that's so talented who should have made it to the NBA but didn't, there's a lot of people who have been in position who haven't been able to share their story. I'm glad he's able to share his story and put it out there to be an inspiration to kids. To this day I'm still good friends with Schea and I still talk to him. Q. J.J., you've always had a great perspective on things, and I'm just curious to ask you, what do you think about athletes today becoming more active as things that are going on and speaking out about issues right now? J.J. REDICK: I would refer you to episode 33 and episode 34 of the vertical podcasts with J.J. Redick. I think it's wonderful. I really do. First of all, I think it's important that athletes recognize that they have a voice. There's this old saying like athletes should just stick to sports or whatever and stay out of politics, stay out of social issues and all that, but I think today's athletes realize, whether it's through social media or whether it's through media coverage or through the Players' Tribune or other sort of player-centric media channels that we can kind of control and sort of get our message and our narrative out there, and I think the more active that athletes are, the better it is for everyone, because I know when I was a kid, I looked up to athletes, so if an athlete spoke out on an important issue, then I was probably more likely to hear that opinion and to see that stance and recognize the importance of that. Q. J.J., what's the biggest difference you see from this team coming into this year from last year? J.J. REDICK: We've got a lot of new guys. That's the biggest thing. Our first meeting, I only recognized like six people in there. So we're going to -- it seems like we've kept our core group of guys together and added to that core I would say. I think Austin is part of that core now moving forward, and so for us it's just about getting everyone acclimated to how we play. I mean, if you think about our team, our starting five has been really good, and our bench has gotten better, and I expect our bench to continue to get better. I think we're going to be one of the best teams in the league. Q. Paul, I'm curious, I know you kind of went back and forth a little bit this summer on whether or not you wanted to play. I'm curious, when did you commit to playing and kind of what in your mind pushed you to that decision? PAUL PIERCE: Well, I looked at the team. I looked at how I felt during the off-season workouts. That had a lot to do with it. Once I felt and saw myself being able to get up every day and do the training, I think that's the hardest part, what people don't understand is the summertime is motivation, how willing you're willing to work for the upcoming season, and I think as older players, once you see that drive fall off in the summer, then I think it's time to hang it up. Early in the summer, I really didn't feel like getting up, going to the gym, working out, but as the summer progressed and I thought about the year and I thought about the players, and I was like, last season kind of left a bad taste in my mouth with how it ended, how I played. So I just wanted to kind of go out on my own terms and have one more opportunity to win a championship with this group. I think this group is a great group, a lot of talent, been together. They understand each other. They've been through the trials and tribulations, and I think sometimes it takes that to get over the hump. I think why not give it one more shot, especially the way we went out of the Playoffs, the injuries. Obviously you've got to be good, you've got to be lucky, but I just want to just give it one more shot. Like I said, to win a championship here for the Los Angeles Clippers would be monumental, and if I can be a part of that, that's something I thought about, and that's something that drove me from August, starting in August on. Q. J.J., you mentioned the core of guys; you're a free agent at the end of this season. Chris can become a free agent, Blake can become a free agent. Does knowing that this core might not be together, does that change anything from a sense of urgency standpoint? Does that enter into your mind at all? J.J. REDICK: Not really because I feel there's been a sense of urgency since I got here, and I feel like there's been expectations and pressure, whether internal or external, to win a championship. I think with our group, we've always had sort of a great focus and a great perspective on the present and on embracing sort of the moment that is now, and I wouldn't expect that to be any different this year. My focus again is trying to figure out how to make this team better and how to win a championship with this team. Q. Paul, you have been a part of a superteam, right, in Boston 2008. Now you're going to be facing one of those superteams with Golden State. What were the challenges being a part of that superteam, and do you think Golden State can handle that? PAUL PIERCE: I think when you get together a collective group of guys who are used to being the No. 1 guy, the star, I think you guys all have to be great communication, understand sacrifice, understand what's best for the team. To me, I think we have a superteam here. I mean, you look at Chris Paul, who's been a first-team all-NBA, Blake Griffin, first team, DeAndre Jordan, currently First-Team All-NBA. How many teams can currently say that? You've got the best three-point shooter in the NBA. You've got the Sixth Man of the Year. Why this is not a superteam? What defines superteam? When you look at those stats, when you hear what I'm saying, this could very well easily be what's considered a superteam. There's a number of superteams out there, and I guess that's the way the league is going. But I like our chances versus anybody, being that we're a superteam. I guess Golden State is a superteam, and as Derek Lowe said, the New York Knicks are a superteam. I don't know how many superteams are out there, but there's definitely three, so now I get the opportunity to play on another one, the Los Angeles Clippers. We've just got to go out there and win it now so we can be kind of inked into the history books as one of the great superteams. Q. Paul, you grew up here in Los Angeles -- PAUL PIERCE: Inglewood. Q. We've seen a lot of retirements this year within the span of six months for a lot of LA icons, Kobe six months ago, Vin Scully yesterday and this upcoming week. For you what's the significance for you personally to retire here in Los Angeles? PAUL PIERCE: I don't think I had a plan where it was going to retire, it just so happens that this is the team that I'm on, and a year I felt like it's time, one more year, to hang it up. But just retiring here where I grew up at, where I get the chance to be in front of family and friends, it's pretty amazing that my mom and my brothers, my cousins can come check out my last games, because a lot of times they didn't make it to Boston or Brooklyn or Washington, too long of a trip, too cold. So it's big that I can say I'm finishing up here in front of family and friends, down the street where it all started. People who have been following me since I was a little kid, to say I watched this man grow from a kid to a man, seeing him from the start and finally toward the finish, so it's definitely significant. Q. This is for both of you. You saw the schedule come out for the regular season, and you opened in Portland, so your only trip in Portland for the entire season. How do you two play a role in mentally preparing the team for that trip? J.J. REDICK: I'm not a big like fan of thinking about past years and sort of like how that -- the carryover effect I guess you'd call it. Their team is a little different. Our team is a little different. Hopefully on October 27 both teams are at full strength. But for us, that first game is sort of the start of this journey and the start of this process. I haven't circled that date other than it's the first game of the season. PAUL PIERCE: I haven't seen the schedule, so thank you for letting me know we're playing Portland first. I guess like J.J. said, we're just looking to get off to a great start. It has nothing to do with what happened last season, Portland putting us out of the Playoffs or whatever. I just think we're looking to get off to a great start against a young up and coming team. Obviously they did put us out, but I think a lot of that had to do with us being injured. But they will be better, and I'm just looking forward to the season and playing in my last year. DraftScripts by ASAP Sports FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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