Ex-NBA player Kenyon Martin fires back after JJ Redick rips Lakers’ Christmas effort

The Los Angeles Lakers entered their second season under head coach JJ Redick with hopes of improving on last year’s early playoff exit

With just over one-third of the NBA season already completed, the Lakers have experienced some ups and downs this year. After getting off to a 15-4 start, the Lakers struggled with inconsistency. In Thursday’s primetime matchup, the team fell short of Redick’s expectations.

The Houston Rockets dominated the Lakers en route to a 119-96 win on Christmas Day. Redick sounded off after Los Angeles dropped a third straight game, questioning his team’s effort and professionalism.

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"We don’t care enough right now," Redick said. "And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional." The assessment drew a sharp reaction from former NBA player Kenyon Martin.

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"So, he said the words of the day are what? Is this the f-----g kindergarten classroom where you put words of the day on the f-----g board? What are we talking about here?" Martin asked on an episode of "Gil’s Arena."

"‘The words of the day are effort and execute.’ I saw that when I used to drop my son off at school in kindergarten two years ago. There was a word of the day on the door when you walk in. You got to tell the teacher the word of the day before you get into the classroom. Is this what we’re doing here? We’re professional athletes who are making 30, 40 or 50 million dollars a year. That’s what we’re doing here."

Martin then floated a theory about how the Lakers' locker room views Redick. 

"JJ, I don’t know if you know this or not, bro. Them dudes don’t respect you. You are their peer. Just because you have the head coach title, they don’t look at you as such." Redick last appeared in an NBA game in 2021 with the Dallas Mavericks.

From Martin’s perspective, NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James is viewed as more of a leader than the team’s head coach.

"And the main (culprit) is the guy who you just had got the podcast with. That helped get you the job, man. Let’s call a spade a spade," he said. "Once you address the crying, every possession to the rest with Luka and Austin Reeves and LeBron once. If you addressed it once, if they respect you, they’ll go out of their way to try to change it because you’re a new voice in there. And you gave a certain effort when you played, JJ Redick. You did. You played hard every time you stepped on the floor. People respected that about you."

Redick also committed to making Saturday’s practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Sacramento Kings "uncomfortable" for the Lakers.

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