Lakers head coach JJ Redick believes his team’s approach on offense is being influenced by the fact that so many players on the roster are potential 2026 free agents. After referencing the subject earlier in the week, Redick circled back to it after Thursday’s loss to the cross-town Clippers, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
“Guys are worried about their futures,” Redick said. “And that’s what happens when you got a team full of free agents and player options. I think it’s just natural that you’re gonna worry about the offense … and I’ve been there. (It gets) in your head a little bit: ‘Played five minutes (and) haven’t got a shot yet.’ And that’s a human thing. It’s not anybody’s fault.”
Veteran guard Marcus Smart, whose two-year deal with the Lakers includes a player option for 2026/27, acknowledged that it’s hard for a player to put his contract situation entirely out of his mind. Still, Smart noted that it’s crucial for he and his teammates to focus on playing for each other rather than for themselves.
“It is tough. I mean, you got guys fighting for contracts, fighting to stay on the team and you got other guys who are secure and got theirs and kind of understand where they are,” Smart said. “But at the same time, we’re all professionals and we got to come out and do our jobs no matter what. So, the human element does come into play sometimes and you just got to be able to snap out of it quicker than what we are doing.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Asked on Thursday whether he thinks the Lakers – who are 11-13 since a 15-4 start – need to make a move at the trade deadline, star forward LeBron James replied, “Yeah, I do,” according to Turner. However, James declined to discuss the topic beyond that. “It’s disrespectful to these guys if I start talking over the deadline and what we need to do, we got to get better, whatever the case may be,” he said. “I’m trying not to play fantasy basketball too much.”
- Star forward Kawhi Leonard returned from a three-game injury absence on Thursday and picked up where he left up, scoring 24 points in 26 minutes in the Clippers‘ 112-104 victory over the Lakers. “I thought he looked good. I thought he looked really good, especially to start the game in that first quarter,” head coach Tyronn Lue said, according to Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “He had good pop and then he could have gotten a little tired. He hasn’t played in a while, but that first quarter was really good.”
- Although he was happy to see the Clippers pick up their 14th win in 17 games, Lue would’ve liked his team to finish stronger, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. “We keep getting these leads, and you lose the lead. We gotta be better. We got a team down (17) at half. We gotta step on their throat and blow them out,” the veteran coach said. “Like that was our mindset. That was our mindset at halftime. I thought we came out with the right energy, but we couldn’t sustain it. Not just the Lakers, that’s just anybody. If you’re up 20, let’s blow them out. Like, why not? But it is what it is. It’s a good win for us. They’re a good team. And so we’ll take it.”
- The Suns are thrilled to have Jalen Green back on the floor following his lengthy layoff due to a hamstring injury, and he’s just as happy to be playing again, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “His joy is back,” head coach Jordan Ott said of Green, adding that the team will welcome the guard’s “speed” and “downhill ability” on offense.