J.J. Redick Speaks on Lowe Post About Lob City and Clippers Regrets

Lob City is long over; the only remnant of that era is Clippers’ head coach Doc Rivers, with every player who played alongside Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Jordan now elsewhere. However, that fact hasn’t ended the discussion or questions surrounding the most successful period of Clippers basketball. Every once in a while, the topic of Lob City’s end comes up, and Clippers fans get excited, desiring to hear more about what remains a somewhat mysterious downfall. This morning, crucial Lob City piece J.J. Redick went on Zach Lowe’s podcast, the Lowe Post, and talked about numerous subjects, including his time with the Clippers.

He had some choice quotes about the Clips, most of which read as depressing. To be fair, the Clippers are doing great, and the future is brighter than ever — but it’s still tough to read about the fractures of a team Clippers fans were so invested in. A few quotes stand out in particular:

“The grass isn’t always greener” and “You don’t always realize how good you have it when you’re in it” (regarding a conversation with Chris Paul about the team) is fascinating. J.J. mentioned that he’s talked with most of the Lob City guys (Chris Paul, DJ, Jamal Crawford) and they’ve all expressed disappointment at how everything ended. In the end, while there were always rumors swirling around the team disliking each other and not getting along, most of the vibe appears to have been frustration at failure rather than true dislike. The guys all (or mostly) seem to still be in fairly close contact, and they collectively seem to have moved past any remaining difficulties quickly. In retrospect, having gone elsewhere, they miss the Clippers and what they had in Lob City. In some ways, this isn’t surprising - those Lob City teams were really, really good, and many players will never be on teams that good again.

The other quote that stands out, of course, is “How did that team not win at least one championship?”, because it’s a question Clippers fans have been asking for years. The Clippers just received a 30 for 30, on the subject of Donald Sterling, but a far more fascinating topic (to me) would be focused on Lob City, and try to answer that question. As JJ hints at in the pod, the Clippers were never able to get out of their own way. It’s a simple answer, but there are so many complexities, and relationships, and moments to be explored, and all of that is hinted at in the pod.

The final bit of note is that J.J. did not mention Blake among the former Clippers he’s talked to. Lowe asked him about this, and Redick said he just hasn’t had time to sit down with him, and is cool with Blake. That could very well be true, but it does seem like Blake isn’t as tight with most of the other Lob City players, and that’s another topic that could be of interest in a deeper dive, whether true or false.

Check out the full pod here. It’s extremely good, and touches on a wide variety of subjects. For those looking to only listen to the Clippers-related elements, they start discussing Lob City around minute 36. Enjoy!