JJ Redick clears the air about the viral verbal spat with Jarred Vanderbilt
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JJ Redick clears the air about the viral verbal spat with Jarred Vanderbilt originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers are a depleted team at the moment due to the injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. At the same time, they are making sure LeBron James is healthy for the postseason, so they are managing him.
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This led to the Lakers playing with a limited squad on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a clear blowout win for the defending champions, but it led to the Lakers finding some problems, including a spat between head coach JJ Redick and forward Jarred Vanderbilt.
Redick explains what happened between him and Vanderbilt
Early in the second quarter against the Thunder, Redick called a timeout. By doing so, Redick took Vanderbilt out of the game, and like most players, the latter showed his frustration.
It was a key decision for the Lakers because Redick thought Vanderbilt was not playing as well as he could have hoped. Like any player, Vanderbilt was angry to be taken out, but it seems he is not ready to address the situation.
MORE: Redick provides a crucial Luka Doncic injury update
After the game, Vanderbilt apparently left the arena without speaking to reporters. It was up to Redick to clear up what happened, so he made sure to explain the event and what led up to Vanderbilt's fiery reaction.
"Just a confluence of things. It's nothing personal with him... I think for all of us, being under-manned, we've got to scrap and claw, all got to be on the same page, got to be great teammates, all got to play hard. Called a timeout to take him out of the game, he reacted, just normal interaction for me," Redick said after losing to the Thunder on Tuesday.
It was a game decision for Vanderbilt, but it seems the player is not satisfied with what happened. Unfortunately, Vanderbilt has not been playing many minutes this season, as he struggles on the offensive side of the game.
If Vanderbilt can be a more productive player on that end of the floor, he could stay in the game for longer. However, it seems Redick is not a fan of how Vanderbilt has been playing whenever he is on the floor.
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