J.J. Redick hasn’t been with the New Orleans Pelicans for very long but the 13-year NBA veteran is excited about the opportunity to play with his new team.

Redick signed a two-year, $26.5 million contract with the Pelicans over the summer after spending the past two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and he joins a team adding several new players, including Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and others.

As a former Duke player, Redick is quite familiar with Williamson. On his podcast in July, Redick said he had heard great things about the No. 1 overall pick and was excited to get to work with him. Redick recently joined Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post podcast and discussed his interaction with Williamson.

He’s a super-nice kid. I think he is in a very interesting position because of the amount of responsibility that he has off of the court — he has this huge contract with Jordan [Brand], there are going to be a lot of people pulling at him — he has got such a great head on his shoulders. So, for me, it’s taking that slow and figuring out where I can help and where I can be an added value for him.

With so much turnover on the roster, the Pelicans will be tasked with integrating quite a few new players into the mix. The start of training camp in a few weeks figures to be an important time for the team to begin building the chemistry.

On the podcast, Redick pointed out that the current construction of the roster may help Williamson during his first year in the NBA. While most No. 1 overall picks face the pressure of being the first option on the court, Williamson may not necessarily have that with so many new pieces in place.

I think part of it is the circumstance and part of it I think is an intentional thing that [general manager David Griffin] and the coaching staff and the front office has done in taking the pressure off of Zion. There is no question to me that he is the most hyped prospect since LeBron [James]. You have David Griffin come out and say this is Jrue [Holiday’s] team. … You’re bringing in a really interesting mix of guys where it’s promising young players like Lonzo and Brandon and then older vets like Derrick [Favors] and I and obviously Jrue is the guy. It’s an exciting team.

The situation in New Orleans for Williamson may work to his benefit. He will certainly have his fair share of expectations this season but he won’t be tasked with being the only option on the team like most of the top picks are. With other players in the mix, Williamson can play to his strengths and won’t necessarily need to force things.

After a long summer of projections and speculation, Williamson will soon hit the court for his long-awaited debut in the NBA and that figures to be an exciting time for basketball fans.