Fans with tickets to Tuesday night’s Lakers vs. Spurs game weren’t the only ones upset over the lack of star power in Los Angeles uniforms.
During “First Take” on Wednesday morning, Stephen A. Smith went off on JJ Redick for sitting LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart all on the same night.
“A star [Victor Wembanyama] came into the building, in Tinsel Town, and none of the stars for the Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold were in uniform ready to play,” Smith said.
“That is disgraceful.”
All five Los Angeles players have been dealing with nagging injuries, and with the Lakers having just played a tough matchup against the Thunder on Monday night, Redick opted to rest each of them against San Antonio.
The Lakers ended up started Kobe Bufkin, Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes, Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura, and they were blown out at Crypto.com Arena, 136-108.
Smith said he wouldn’t have minded if Redick gave just a couple of his starters the night off, but all five was just too much for his taste.
“Everybody?” he said on ESPN’s morning show. “That is disrespectful and insensitive and dismissive to the fans. And somebody needs to say it, so, damnit, I’m saying it.”
Smith added he didn’t mean to single out the Lakers, explaining he’s “been annoyed at Steve Kerr” for making similar decisions in Golden State, but he said it’s a growing NBA problem that needs to be addressed soon.
“This is the kind of stuff that makes people, particularly old-schoolers and others who they ingratiate themselves with, resent the product,” he said. “This is what has the league going crazy. Because you’ve got to do all kinds of things from a creative or curating standpoint to come up with stuff just to make up for what shouldn’t be happening.
“You should show up to work.”
The Lakers have one more game on the schedule before the NBA’s All-Star break — a Thursday night home matchup with the Mavericks. It’s not yet clear which Lakers starters, if any, will be back in uniform for the game.