The supposed kerfuffle between JJ Redick and Luka Dončić may not have had any teeth.
But it was revealing.
While fielding three questions about the incident before the Los Angeles Lakers beat New Orleans on Tuesday, 110–101, Redick shrugged off the chatter that there’s an issue between them.
“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.”
But in between the lines, he later implied their exchange was an emotional failing of sorts, something that should be learned from.
Before we get into that, let’s unpack the viral moment that happened during the Lakers’ blowout win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Cameras caught Redick grabbing Dončić’s wrist as he walked off the court. Dončić pulled his wrist away and ignored Redick, walking past him. Redick responded by following Dončić to the bench and chirping at him as he sat down.
Whatever Redick said clearly got under Dončić’s skin. As Redick walked away, Dončić stood up and took a few steps toward him before Jarred Vanderbilt blocked his path by clapping.
It was easy fodder for pundits, who feasted on the ephemeral discord, saying it showed how much they dislike each other.
But when Redick was questioned about the incident, he dismissed it as a coach and a player momentarily caught up in the intensity of a game.
“I was talking to Luka about it,” he said. “We were actually laughing about it. I was like, ‘I didn’t feel any tension.’ He was like, ‘Nah, I didn’t care about it.’ You do it and you move on.”
Redick waved it off as the type of thing that takes on a life of its own under the intense scrutiny that comes with being a Laker in a city that loves drama.
“I don’t know why it went viral,” he said. “It felt very normal to me.”
But when Redick was asked if those misunderstood moments can actually bring the people caught up in them closer, creating an us-versus-the-world mentality, things got interesting.
He started talking about his past failings.
Specifically, Redick referenced Game 5 of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against Minnesota last season. During his pregame media availability, he became irritated and walked out of the room after a reporter asked the then-first-year coach if he was going to lean on his assistants for lineup adjustments.
“I think of my response last year before Game 5, that was a bad moment for me,” he said. “I failed at that. That’s a learning opportunity for me. That’s a growth opportunity for me.”
Redick then opened up about his philosophy on those types of moments, including what transpired between him and Dončić.
“I don’t think our players should be afraid to fail — and that’s emotional failure, too,” he said. “I think as coaches, we’ve gotta probably be a little bit better than our players. But it’s okay to fail emotionally in the moment because you learn from it.”
Redick wants everyone on the Lakers to be unafraid to feel whatever they’re feeling. He doesn’t want them to perform for the cameras just because they’re under a microscope. So what if they go viral? That’s part of the gig.
But he also implied what happened Tuesday between him and Doncic wasn’t exactly just a nothing moment that was blown out of proportion.
It was an exchange Redick knows he could’ve handled differently. Same with Dončić. That doesn’t mean it’s an issue. That doesn’t mean it caused a fracture between the player and coach.
In fact, far from it.
“I’ve known Luka now for whatever it is, about six years; our relationship is strong,” he said. “It’s only going to get stronger.”
It just means it was an emotional failing.
By showing vulnerability, Redick actually showed strength.
Those types of viral moments can either bring teams closer or create fractures. In Los Angeles, there’s no quiet drama. Everything is amplified to a fever pitch, which can have a snowball effect if there are actually simmering tensions.
Redick started to just dismiss his exchange with Doncic as nothing. But then he revealed what he actually thought about things. It was a moment in which they could’ve done better.
That’s okay. That’s normal. That happens.
That’s the type of thing a leader admits.
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