The Los Angeles Lakers are in a bit of a crisis after what was a brilliant start to the season. They’re not in the doldrums just yet, but after recent losses, JJ Redick has criticized his players openly. Unfortunately, that may just end up making things worse.
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Redick, after the Lakers’ Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets, claimed that they were a terrible basketball team. Normally, that would be seen as a wake-up call, especially if it came from someone like Phil Jackson or Steve Kerr. But Redick is a new head coach. He has not achieved much with the Lakers yet, so it could be perceived as arrogant.
Kenyon Martin recently claimed that there’s a lack of respect towards Redick in the dressing room. For that, he also dragged LeBron James into the crime scene.
“JJ, I don’t know if you know this or not, but these dudes don’t respect you,” Martin said on a recent podcast. “You are their peer. Just because you got that head coach title, they don’t look at you as such.”
“The main culprit [here] is the guy who you just had the podcast with… that helped get you the job,” the former NBA All-Star said, referring to James, hinting that it was the King who got Redick his place on the Lakers touchline in the first place.
Martin didn’t stop there. He insisted that if players actually had respect for Redick as a coach, they would play hard for him. Instead, it’s something the boss has complained of heavily in recent times. They would run back and get ready to defend hard, Martin added.
“If you address them once, they respect you, they’ll go out there and win and try to change,” Martin continued, before reminding Redick that when he played ball, he was one of the hardest working players on the court, for which he was actually respected. But that same heart, sadly, cannot just be transferred to the existing Lakers roster.
Currently, the Lakers are on a three-game losing streak, with doubts over their chances at postseason success creeping in. Redick has faced the backlash of fans too, for throwing his young players under the bus, and the defeat against the Rockets on Christmas didn’t help calm nerves.
There’s still 53 games left to play in the 25/26 season. Hopefully, for them, a change in attitude comes about.
