LOS ANGELES — NBA legend and TNT analyst Charles Barkley criticized JJ Redick for comments he made a few weeks ago – and the Lakers coach, apparently, couldn’t care less.
During the Thursday broadcast of the “Inside the NBA” studio show, Barkley made it clear he took exception to part of Redick’s response when he was asked about the discourse surrounding the state of the league ahead of the Lakers’ Dec. 19 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
“I don’t think we as, and by we, I was part of it, we as the sort of national partners have done a good job of storytelling, of celebrating the game,” Redick, who was an NBA analyst for ESPN from 2021-24, said at the time. “If I’m a casual fan and you tell me every time I turn on the television that the product sucks, well I’m not gonna watch the product.
“And that’s really what has happened over the last 10-15 years. I don’t know why. It’s not funny to me. Nothing is entertaining to me. This game should be celebrated.”
Those comments appeared to irk Barkley – although Redick didn’t directly name any show or broadcaster in his criticisms.
“He said something about we’re the reason people ain’t watching this crappy product we got,” Barkley said on Thursday. “Yeah, us. Like we’re out there jacking up a hundred 3s a night. JJ, you come for the king, you better not miss, because I can get you, brother. Remember, I got your Lakers games. You can’t hide them flaws they got. You’re just a dead man walking.
“They got rid of Frank Vogel, who did a good job. They got rid of Darvin Ham, who did a good job. But you came out there thinking you were going to change things with that same ugly girl you went on a date with. The Lakers stink. He came in there thinking, ‘I can make this thing work.’ The hell you can. You can put some makeup on that pig. The Lakers stink, man. Come on, man.”
Redick addressed Barkley’s comments ahead of Friday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Lakers entered the matchup, the second night of a home back-to-back, with a 19-14 record and at the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference standings after beating the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
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“I read a random text from somebody after the game – I went to look at my phone and it says something about Charles Barkley,” Redick said. “And I’m like, ‘Huh?’ But [assistant coaches] Greg [St. Jean] and Beau [Levesque] showed me. I didn’t make it all the way through the clip, I gotta be honest with you. My resting heart rate is probably 64 [beats per minute]. I watched the clip, it was 64. Literally don’t care. I have other thoughts, but don’t care.”
INJURY OPTIMISM
Redick said there was “optimism” for guard Gabe Vincent to be available during their upcoming Texas road trip after Vincent missed his third consecutive game because of a strained left oblique, which he suffered early in last Saturday’s home win against the Kings.
The Lakers play at the Houston Rockets on Sunday then visit the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
All-Star big man Anthony Davis was available Friday and back in the starting lineup after sitting out Thursday’s game.