JJ Redick is comfortable with Luka Doncic talking to officials as long as those conversations do not leave the Los Angeles Lakers shorthanded on defense.
Before Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Redick was asked about Doncic’s interactions with referees.
The Lakers coach identified the consequence that would concern him: an opponent attacking before Doncic gets back into the play.
“As long as he’s not creating a 5-on-4 opportunity for the other team in transition, I don’t have a problem with it,” Redick said.
His answer comes after Doncic’s exchanges with Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg became a major talking point from Wednesday’s season opener.
Redick’s condition gives the discussion a specific basketball focus: whether a complaint carries over into the next defensive possession.
JJ Redick’s concern is the cost to the Lakers’ defense
A missed call and the possession that follows can create two separate problems. If a player remains behind to argue while the opponent pushes the ball, his teammates must protect the basket and cover passing options with one fewer defender.
That can force someone to leave a shooter to stop the ball or protect the rim. The disadvantage can develop before the defense has a chance to organize, even if the original complaint never draws a technical foul.
Redick’s answer makes getting back part of the standard for Doncic. It does not amount to a claim that every conversation with an official hurts the Lakers, nor did the reported remark identify a particular possession from the Warriors game as a violation of that standard.
Doncic, meanwhile, has described another priority in managing his emotions: avoiding technicals.
Luka Doncic explained his approach after Yaxel Lendeborg clash
After the opener, Doncic said he was trying to control his response to Lendeborg’s trash talk.
“I wasn’t trying to talk back,” Doncic said. “This season I’m not trying to get techs.”
Lendeborg offered a much harsher assessment of their first meeting. He said he had “lost all respect” for Doncic because of his complaints throughout the game.
Yaxel Lendeborg said he “lost all respect” for Luka Doncic after facing him tonight because he said Doncic was “complaining the entire game.”
On his interaction with Doncic: “I told him he sucks. He can’t score on me.”
Full soundbite pic.twitter.com/1NPctFQ3Vp
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 22, 2026
The confrontation included a second-quarter shooting foul Doncic drew against Lendeborg. Later in the quarter, Lendeborg received a technical during another exchange, while Warriors coach Steve Kerr argued that Doncic also deserved one.
The Lakers won 127-105, but the debate continued afterward. Stephen Curry backed Lendeborg’s willingness to challenge Doncic, praising his confidence.
Curry’s support for the rookie’s competitiveness did not explicitly endorse Lendeborg’s separate comments about losing respect.
Redick’s latest remarks add the Lakers coach’s own criterion to that discussion. Doncic has said he wants to avoid technical fouls; Redick also wants his team to have all five defenders available when the ball heads the other way.
Those concerns overlap, but they are not identical. A player can avoid a whistle for arguing and still leave his teammates exposed in transition.
That is the outcome Redick singled out when explaining what he will tolerate from his star guard.
