Jarred Vanderbilt talks about incident with Lakers coach JJ Redick
Jarred Vanderbilt seems like he has put his heated interaction with Lakers coach JJ Redick in the past.
Many people noticed that during the Los Angeles Lakers ' 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, forward Jarred Vanderbilt got into a heated interaction with coach JJ Redick and Redick's staff. Some seemed to wonder if it was a sign that Vanderbilt wasn't performing the way he was expected to. The incident happened early in the game, and he didn't get onto the court again after playing just five minutes.
But Redick downplayed the incident afterward, and he gave Vanderbilt significant playing time in the last two games. Following the Lakers' 101-73 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday, Vanderbilt said he talked to Redick about the incident and that he put it behind him while stressing the importance of "unity. " Via Lakers Nation : “We talked about it and moved on from it,” Vanderbilt said.
“At this point in the season, we both realized this is the group we’ve got. So it’s definitely not a time for everybody to separate. I think unity, especially with our group right now, is super important.
” It's important to remember that flare-ups such as this one between Vanderbilt and Redick happen throughout the course of a long season. It doesn't necessarily mean that something is amiss — it may simply mean that an uncomfortable truth needs to be discussed and resolved. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out for at least the next few weeks due to hamstring and oblique strains, respectively, Vanderbilt will likely play a larger role than usual.