National Basketball Association

'We're all getting older': Redick says Clips have sense of urgency

Published Sep. 30, 2014 8:06 p.m. ET

Jovan Buha

Every media day features a prevailing level of optimism about the upcoming season.

With a blank canvas in front of them, teams can paint whatever vision of the future they want to the public, and it's almost always the best-case scenario.

Lottery teams predict playoff appearances. Coaches install new offenses and more complex defenses, claiming the transition will be seamless. Players lose fat and gain muscle at seemingly impossible rates. Cliches are spouted left and right.

No matter what happened during the previous season, this upcoming season is always going to better. It has to be. At least that's the message teams and players want to portray to the media.

Sometimes, though, players offer candid responses that peer into the actual mindset of their franchise, one that isn't as sugarcoated. This was the case with J.J. Redick at Los Angeles Clippers media day on Monday, as the eight-year veteran served as the voice of reason with a sobering view on the team's championship window.

"To be quite frank: we're all getting older," Redick said from media day. "Matt's going to be 35 this year ... next year, 2015. (Jamal Crawford's) going to be 36. I'm getting older. Chris is getting older. We're all getting older.

"In terms of the core group of guys, Blake and DJ are the youngest, but you never know how many opportunities you're going to have like this, to be on a team that has a legitimate chance to win a championship."

On the surface, the Clippers are bona fide contenders for the next half-decade.

They have a brand new owner, Steve Ballmer, who also happens to be one of the richest men in American professional sports. Superstars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are locked up until at least 2017; head coach and president Doc Rivers until 2019. The franchise's brand and culture have never been better.

Sep 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and center DeAndre Jordan (6) during media day at the team training facility in Playa Vista. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

But take a closer look and you see a team, as currently constructed, with a short-term championship window.

Griffin and Paul don't exactly have the best injury histories or playoff track records -- if either one goes down, which is certainly possible, so too do the team's title aspirations. DeAndre Jordan will be a free agent this offseason, and could potentially leave if offered the max. The current rendition of the West is as good and as deep as any conference in NBA history, and that's probably not going to change anytime soon.

"There's absolutely a sense of urgency," Redick said. "Things can change very quickly in this league. Whether it's one trade, one injury."

Looking even shorter term, the mileage of a veteran roster is beginning to catch up. As Redick pointed out, vital role players aren't getting any younger. The Clippers have the fourth-oldest roster in the league, according to Real GM, and despite their popular "Lob City" moniker, don't feature much athleticism outside of their freakish interior tandem of Griffin and Jordan.

With the fickle nature of championship windows, there is a lot of pressure on this year's team -- the best and deepest roster of the Chris Paul era on paper -- to not only advance past the Western Conference semifinals, but to win a Larry O'Brien trophy.

"Our focus on last year was to win a championship. I think our expectation is the same. Our expectations are to be playing in June," Redick said.

With a sour taste in their mouths after a disappointing finish to last season -- highlighted by a comedy of Paul-led errors in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder -- the Clippers are entering training camp with the same mindset as last season, save for one distinct advantage.

"Having been through it once now with this group, with this coaching staff, I think gives us an advantage if we're just speaking about not comparing ourselves to the rest of the league," Redick said. "But it gives us an advantage having been together."

Matt Barnes also echoed a similar sentiment.

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"I think it's huge. I think it's a huge step," Barnes said of the team's core group of players entering a second training camp under Rivers. "I think anytime you keep a core of your team together, with the great coaching staff we have, even though we have new coaches.

"And we have some major underappreciated free-agent acquisitions this year that are going to help our team; to have your main seven or eight guys back, with a few great additions, it's going to be a huge advantage."

The Clippers will leverage any advantages they can get. It remains to be seen whether they can match and/or surpass the Spurs and Thunder, or if they'll stay stuck as the clear-cut bronze medalist in the loaded West.

Another wasted season is another year closer to their window shutting, the franchise having to reload, and players -- Paul especially -- enduring criticism for their lack of playoff success.

As training camp gets underway Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Clippers will continue to reiterate their goals and publicly promote their progress. Just as every other team has done and will continue to do.

But as Redick exposed in a moment of truth and vulnerability, the Clippers understand just how quickly things can change. The time is now. Not next season or the season after that.

The future is bright, but for how long?

There's always next year, until there's not.