Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt spoke to the media for the first time since his viral altercation with head coach JJ Redick, after the 101-73 win over the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on Friday. Vanderbilt was unsurprisingly asked about his conversations with Redick behind the scenes during his postgame press conference, and insisted they have put the incident behind them.
“We talked about it, we moved on from it,” Vanderbilt said, via The Sporting Tribune. “And at this point in the season, we both realize this is the group we got. It’s definitely not a time for anybody to separate. So I think unity, especially with our group right now, that’s super important.”
Vanderbilt had confronted Redick during the Lakers’ 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. The latter called a timeout 16 seconds into the second quarter to sub out the former, which didn’t go down too well. Vanderbilt had some words for Redick on the court during the timeout and later on the bench as well. The 27-year-old played no further part in the game after that.
Redick downplayed the altercation after the game, stressing it was nothing personal. He called it a normal interaction for him.
Then, prior to Thursday’s clash with the Golden State Warriors, Redick revealed he had met with Vanderbilt, and that their conversation went great. You had previously wondered whether the forward would be removed from the rotation, but he played 26 minutes as the Lakers beat the Warriors 119-103.
Vanderbilt then played 19 minutes here against the Suns and put up six points (3-6 FG), seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He believes that he and Redick being able to put the incident behind them is yet another example of this team showing they can handle adversity.
“I think adversity is inevitable in this league,” Vanderbilt stated. “Every team go through ups and downs, injuries, losing streaks, winning streaks. So, it’s always highs and lows to the game. The best teams are the ones that can withstand the tough times and bounce back quicker than other teams. So, I think that’s something that we’ve been able to do this year.”
We had previously seen Redick and Lakers superstar Luka Doncic get into an argument during an earlier game against the Warriors. Vanderbilt was the one who had stopped the situation from escalating back then. He has been a great presence in that locker room, which made the incident in that Thunder game so surprising.
As Vanderbilt mentioned, it’s more important now than ever before that the Lakers are unified. Doncic and Austin Reaves are both out with injuries that could keep them out for the first round of the playoffs. If the Lakers are to defy the odds and advance to the Western Conference Semifinals, they will need to stay together.
The Lakers did at least make life a bit easier for them with this win over the Suns. They improved to 52-29 on the season and have secured home-court advantage in the first round. How much will that help? We’ll find out soon enough.
Before we get to the playoffs, though, the Lakers do have one final regular-season game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
