“ Everything is fine, I have no disagreements with people. » This formal defusing is signed JJ Redickwho crossed paths with his former coach, Doc Riverslast night with the Lakers. “ And I'm not going to go into detail about my relationship with Doc right now. And I probably never will. For me everything is fine “, assures the new coach of the Californian team.
The subject is brought to the table because no one has forgotten its release last February. When the consultant on ESPN at the time unleashed himself against the Bucks coach: “ Hey, Doc, we get it! Taking on a team during the season is difficult. We got it! […] He's always looking for an excuse, and it's always the team's fault. »
His former coach at the Clippers had just arrived in Wisconsin and the Bucks, who had just thanked Adrian Griffin (30 wins – 13 losses), continued to slip. Doc Rivers will also end the year with a negative record (17 wins – 19 losses) and an exit in the first round of the playoffs.
Regret on the tone used
“ After that appearance on 'First Take,' I had a number of conversations – both at ESPN and within the league – that gave me a better understanding of whether I had remained in the media or if I had looked for a coaching position. I repeat, I regret the tone I used in this matter. I assumed it and I regret my tone », nuance JJ Redick today.
Doc Rivers' response speech has not really evolved. “JJ has had a problem with me for a while and I'm fine with it “, said the coach last spring, assuring today that any discord between JJ Redick and him would only go ” in a sense “.
“ The coaches invest in the players. They really do. They give them a lot of love. And often this love is rejected. That's how it is. Often, it's because you decide to take a different direction. You should never make it a personal matter. You know you did the right thing for this player. Most of the time the player comes back later and figures it out », he judges.
We will understand that the tensions between the two men date back to their shared mandate in Los Angeles, in their coach-player relationship. But as he says, that's part of being a coach. Doc Rivers thus takes the example of his new assistant and former Lakers coach, Darvin Ham, whose relationship with D'Angelo Russell was not always optimal.
The difficult coach-player relationship
The point guard recently said the team sometimes had “ improvised » last season… « Coaches sometimes have low morale. You know, Darvin is dealing with this a little bit. He now sees guys making comments, even though he is invested in them. It's not fair, but it happens and it's part of our job. We are aware of this “, continues Doc Rivers.
For his first media outing since his dismissal in Los Angeles, Darvin Ham explains for his part that he “ invested body and soul in this team “. And remember that under his leadership, the Lakers went from a negative record (33v-49d) to a Western Conference final in one year.
“ I'm not angry or bitter. Some people have opinions and they are opinions, but if you really look at the facts there's not much to say for me personally », assures Darvin Ham. The latter is also widely supported by Doc Rivers according to whom, thinking of this conference final as well as the mid-season tournament won, his dismissal had “ literally no sense “.
We imagine that the Rivers – Ham tandem will follow with curiosity the results of the Redick version of the Lakers…
