To JJ Redick, the exchange between him and star player Luka Doncic from Saturday’s win over the Warriors in San Francisco was normal.
And just as, if not even more, importantly, Doncic appears to feel the same way.
“I didn’t think much of it at the time, to be honest with you,” Redick said. “I don’t think Luka did either. He and I have a great relationship. I really value our relationship. And I think those things happen, not every game, but they happen very frequently.
“Sometimes you have to rehash them with a player, or as a teammate, sometimes it happens player to player. It’s a competition. And there’s two guys here who, in this case, are trying to win a basketball game and be on the same page about stuff. And frankly, I talk about player-led teams all the time; I encourage guys talking to me or talking to our coaches, bringing stuff up and telling us what they need.”
A fan inside of Chase Center recorded an apparent 16-second contentious moment between Redick and Doncic while walking towards the Lakers bench.
Redick reached out and grabbed Doncic’s arm, with the two exchanging dialogue while Redick walked alongside Doncic back to the end of the Lakers’ bench. The conversation between the Lakers star player and coach continued as Doncic sat down, with Redick making one final comment as he was walking away back towards the scorer’s table.
Doncic immediately stood up as Redick walked away, with forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who was sitting nearby on the bench during the exchange, getting up from his seat between Redick and Doncic and clapping to diffuse the situation.
“I don’t know why it went viral,” Redick said. “It felt very normal to me.”
The easy answer is that it went viral because it’s the Lakers.
And anything involving the Lakers will be scrutinized at a different level – which Redick not only understands but also welcomes.
“It just feels normal, which is probably part of the reason I wanted to coach the Lakers,” Redick said while laughing. “I was talking to Luka about it. We were actually laughing about it. I didn’t feel any tension. He was like, ‘nah, I didn’t care about it.’ You do it and you move on.
“The reality is everybody is going to always have an opinion. Since pro sports have existed, everybody has always had an opinion. There’s been sports talk, there’s been barber shops, chat rooms. Everybody’s had an opinion. Now, everybody’s opinion is more easily accessible. It’s just more amplified now but it’s normal.”
So consider the exchange much ado about nothing.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
