Lakers Coach Comments on Sideline Exchange with Jared Vanderbilt
In the aftermath of the Lakers’ 123-87 defeat to the Thunder, coach JJ Redick addressed his interaction with reserve forward Jared Vanderbilt during the second quarter, describing it as “not personal” and a “normal interaction” for him.
The incident occurred just 16 seconds into the quarter when Redick called a timeout following a missed floater by Kobe Bufkin, which had grazed Alex Caruso’s hand before veering off target.
As the team returned to the bench, Vanderbilt approached the coaching area and appeared eager to engage with Redick, who was consulting with assistant coach Greg St. Jean and using a whiteboard.
Star guard Austin Reeves, currently dealing with an oblique injury, intervened, positioning himself between Redick and Vanderbilt. Assistant coach Nate McMillan was also there, backing up Vanderbilt as Redick moved toward the bench while McMillan and Reeves stayed with Vanderbilt.
Back near the bench, Vanderbilt kept trying to converse with Redick, but at one point, Redick appeared to shrug him off.
McMillan then gestured for Vanderbilt to step back and positioned himself between the two as Redick, who had risen from the bench, spoke to Vanderbilt.
When asked about the exchange, Redick noted, “There were a lot of things coming together.” He emphasized that it wasn’t personal, describing it as standard procedure in their current situation where the team needed to be cohesive and work hard. He mentioned calling the timeout to substitute Vanderbilt, adding that that kind of response is typical for him.
After that incident, Vanderbilt did not return to the game.
During his brief time on the court, Vanderbilt managed to score 3 points, grab 2 rebounds, provide 1 assist, and make 1 steal in just 5 minutes.
He left the arena without commenting to reporters. When pressed about what Vanderbilt wasn’t doing during his limited playing time, Redick suggested, “It was just a confluence of factors.”
This marked the second occasion in the game where Redick called a timeout early to take a veteran player out. About 2.5 minutes into the game, he had pulled Rui Hachimura, who then returned to score a team-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and contribute five assists across 26 minutes of play.
Redick further explained, “We called a timeout early because Louie didn’t do his job, so we took him out of the game. We’ve got to identify nine players willing to fully engage in our fight. I’m hesitant to use war metaphors, but whatever it takes, we need to find those players in the next few games.”
