Whenever an NBA team is struggling, everyone always looks for someone to blame. The Los Angeles Lakers fit this bill, and typically, the scapegoat is the coach. Many were curious when the Lakers chose to hire JJ Redick, who had no prior experience, as their head coach. With the Lakers’ struggles, many want to blame Redick, but Udonis Haslem has a different take.
Udonis Haslem Believes the Lakers’ Struggles Are on the Players, Not JJ Redick
While discussing the NBA’s biggest headlines of the week on NBA on Prime Video, Haslem chose the Lakers, as he put it, “not in a good way,” explaining their struggles.
“What the hell are you doing? What the hell is going on?” Haslem asked the Lakers. “… Let’s make this clear: this is not on JJ. This is on the players. You guys have the 10th-easiest schedule for the second half of the season.”
After Haslem called them out for losing to the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns, he explained where their main problems lie, but believes it’s not too late for them.
“Your two main guys (Luka Dončić and LeBron James), down the stretch, (are) making mistakes. That can’t happen if you plan on getting where you’re trying to go and say you want to be a championship team. It’s no time to panic. There’s a lot of talent in that locker room. They can go on a six-game winning streak easy and turn this around, but those guys have to be dependable down the stretch.”
Udonis Haslem calls out the Lakers:
“What the hell are you doing? What the hell is going on? This is not on JJ. This is on the players… Your two main guys making mistakes down the stretch, that can’t happen if you want to be a championship team” pic.twitter.com/hlX4tQUPZ8
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) February 28, 2026
It’s a tale as old as time that when teams struggle, everyone goes to the coach because they are the most replaceable. However, if a chef doesn’t have the right ingredients to make the best dish possible, what exactly can he do?
It’s becoming clear as this season has gone on that it’s been one of transition for LA. The pairing of Dončić and James sounded quite tantalizing, but it more or less confirmed that one coming in meant the other was on his way out.
Much has been made of the strong narrative that James and the Lakers are headed for a divorce, as this is the first time in his career that he isn’t his team’s best player, and the Lakers did not extend him this past summer.
There are fewer than two months for the Lakers to work this out, but if they don’t, it doesn’t feel fair to say it’s on Redick for what’s happened.
