Lakers coach JJ Redick claims his vocal argument with Jarred Vanderbilt was nothing unusual

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick downplayed his mid-game shouting match with Jarred Vanderbilt on Tuesday night, calling it a normal occurrence during a stressful time for his injury-depleted team.

Redick and Vanderbilt repeatedly exchanged words in a visible, vocal argument after Redick called a timeout and removed Vanderbilt from the Lakers’ game against Oklahoma City just 16 seconds into the second quarter.

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Redick said the argument was caused by “just a confluence of things,” declining to be specific about what Vanderbilt had done wrong.

“Nothing personal with him,” Redick added. “Normal stuff from my end. I think for all of us, being undermanned, we’ve got to scrap and claw. We’ve got to all be on the same page. We’ve got to be great teammates. We’ve got to all play hard. I called a timeout to get him out of the game, and he reacted.”

After Redick called the timeout, Vanderbilt approached him on the court. When Vanderbilt became demonstrative, Austin Reaves — who didn’t play due to injury — stepped between his teammate and the head coach, along with assistant coach Nate McMillan.

Vanderbilt continued the discussion when Redick sat on the bench after the timeout, and Redick made a dismissive gesture in Vanderbilt’s direction that appeared to irritate Vanderbilt further.

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Vanderbilt didn’t return to the game after being pulled, and he left the Lakers’ downtown arena without speaking to reporters.

Vanderbilt made his only shot and had two rebounds and a steal during his 4 1/2 minutes of play, but he also missed three consecutive free throws right before the first-quarter buzzer. The defensive specialist has played inconsistent minutes for Redick this season, struggling to bring his offensive game up to a level that would allow him to be a rotation regular.

Los Angeles faced the Thunder without NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Reaves, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes due to injury, and the result was predictable: Oklahoma City routed the Lakers 123-87, sending them to their third consecutive loss after winning 13 of their previous 14.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-coach-jj-redick-claims-062712282.html

Author : GREG BEACHAM

Publish date : 2026-04-08 06:27:00

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