Third-year Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick may have taken a subtle dig at LeBron James during his news conference on Thursday.
Notably, Redick said that the “pieces actually fit together” on the Lakers for the first time since he took over as head coach in 2024-25.
“I think we’ve always tried to give our players clearly defined roles, and I think with this group, probably the first time in my three years here that I feel like the pieces actually fit together, and so those roles probably get even more crystallized,” Redick said of the Lakers’ roster construction, via LakersNation.
Lakers Roster Undergoes Makover
This offseason, the Lakers lost LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura to free agency, and traded Deandre Ayton. Five of those six players were in the starting unit in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets due to the injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
The Rob Pelinka-led front office brought in reinforcements in the form of new starting center Walker Kessler, floor-spacing big Sandro Mamukelashvili, 3-and-D wing Quentin Grimes, combo guard Collin Sexton and defensive-minded wings Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle. They also traded for Jaden Hardy, drafted Cameron Carr and signed veteran center Kevon Looney.
Redick is convinced that the incoming pieces fit better next to Doncic and Reaves.
“I’ll give you the wings, like there’s a very clear ask for you to be able to play, and if you don’t do those things, then you’re not going to play. That’s just the reality,” Redick saoid. “We’ve already had some of those conversations this week with our players.
“We have high, high confidence in these guys that they’re going to buy into that. So it’s going to naturally create a lot of healthy competition, and everybody at some point inevitably will get a chance to impact our team and impact winning.”
Lakers Fans React…
Many Lakers fans felt Redick took a sly jab at James, especially since the veteran forward was a key piece of his rotation in his first two seasons .
“So, basically no LeBron,” a fan noted, via HITC.
Another fan added, “Bron is the main reason you are a ‘relevant’ coach in the NBA.”
“JJ Redick got tired of coaching LeBron. He’s so happy he’s off the team,” said another fan.
“Can’t wait until Pelinka and Redick are gone, man,” one fan expressed.
“You had LeBron playing third fiddle to AR15 and Luka, yeah, of course the pieces will fit better,” another fan wrote.
JJ Redick and the Lakers kick off their new season with a home fixture against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21. Oddsmakers have set their over/under wins total at 46.5, which will likely be good enough for the sixth or seventh seed. The Lakers won 53 games last year and clinched the fourth seed in the West.
Lakers’ JJ Redick Accused of Throwing LeBron James Under the Bus