For the Los Angeles Lakers, the last few games have been a disappointment. The team has lost four of its last six games and currently sits on a three-game losing streak after an embarrassing Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets. Now, an unexpected voice is giving head coach JJ Redick a reality check.

On Gil’s Arena, former NBA forward Kenyon Martin didn’t mince words, sending a harsh message that he believes the team and the coach need to hear.

“JJ, I don’t know if you know this or not, bro,” Martin said. “Them dudes don’t respect you. You are their peer. Just because you got the head coach title, they don’t look at you as such.”

Martin openly mocked Redick‘s attempts at emphasizing “effort and execution,” comparing his approach to that of a kindergarten classroom. This isn’t a group still figuring out basic habits. It’s a veteran roster filled with star players, max deals, and title expectations. In Martin’s view, Redick has the basketball IQ needed for the job, but he’s too close to the locker room, and there’s one clear culprit.

“The main culprit is the guy who you just had the podcast with,” Martin said. “That helped hire you. That helped get you the job. Let’s call a spade a spade.”

Obviously, he’s referring to LeBron James, who co-hosted his Mind the Game podcast with Redick. According to Martin, that dynamic is what makes Redick impossible to bring in a sense of accountability. When the stars don’t feel pressure to rein in their complaints to officials, hustle back on defense, or manage their energy, the rest of the roster inevitably mirrors that behavior.

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When the panel floated JJ Redick’s idea of making the team’s next practice an “uncomfortable” one, Martin shut it down immediately. He framed it as a solution that might sound good in theory, but ignores the reality of who the Lakers are.

“Do you actually think… LeBron James is going to go out this b— and run around like he’s 19?” Martin asked bluntly. “You’re not going to run LeBron James 41-year-old a– in the ground.”

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That was the heart of Martin’s critique. He’s not just accusing James of not caring, but pointing out the imbalance: you can’t coach the King the same way you coach role players like Marcus Smart or Jarred Vanderbilt.

It’s impossible to “demand” extra effort from someone who has already achieved everything the sport has to offer, and especially someone who shapes the power structure within the Lakers‘ locker room. This is where Redick, according to Martin, runs into trouble.

Luka Doncic‘s own comments just underscore the tension. After the loss to the Rockets, he admitted that change was necessary:

“I don’t know what has to change, but definitely something needs to change… Everybody has got to give better effort, starting with me.”

The accountability was right, and the discomfort was acknowledged, but to Martin, the talk had never been the issue. Until the Lakers reconcile who sets the tone in the locker room, these problems will keep resurfacing, no matter how tough practices are or how big “execution” is written on the board.