The Los Angeles Lakers entered their second season under head coach JJ Redick with hopes of improving on last year’s early playoff exit

With just over one-third of the NBA season already completed, the Lakers have experienced some ups and downs this year. After getting off to a 15-4 start, the Lakers struggled with inconsistency. In Thursday’s primetime matchup, the team fell short of Redick’s expectations.

The Houston Rockets dominated the Lakers en route to a 119-96 win on Christmas Day. Redick sounded off after Los Angeles dropped a third straight game, questioning his team’s effort and professionalism.

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"We don’t care enough right now," Redick said. "And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional." The assessment drew a sharp reaction from former NBA player Kenyon Martin.

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"So he said the words of the day are what? Is this the f-----g kindergarten classroom where you put words of the day on the f-----g board? What are we talking about here?" asked Martin on a recent episode of "Gil’s Arena."

"‘The words of the day are effort and execute.’ I saw that when I used to drop my son off at school in kindergarten two years ago. There was a word of the day on the door when you walk in. You got to tell the teacher the word of the day before you get into the classroom. Is this what we’re doing here? We’re professional athletes who are making 30, 40, or 50 million dollars a year. That’s what we’re doing here."

Martin then floated a theory on how the Lakers locker room views Redick. 

"JJ, I don’t know if you know this or not, bro. Them dudes don’t respect you. You are their peer. Just because you have the head coach title, they don’t look at you as such." Redick last appeared in an NBA game in 2021 with the Dallas Mavericks.

From Martin’s perspective, NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James is viewed as more of a leader than the team’s head coach.

"And the main corporate is the guy who you just had got the podcast with. That helped get you the job, man. Let’s call a spade a spade," he said. "Once you address the crying, every possession to the rest with Luka and Austin Reeves and LeBron once. If you addressed it once, if they respect you, they’ll go out of their way to try to change it because you’re a new voice in there. And you gave a certain effort when you played, JJ Redick. You did. You played hard every time you stepped on the floor. People respected that about you."

Redick also committed to making Saturday’s practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Sacramento Kings "uncomfortable" for the Lakers.

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James Cameron is setting the record straight on casting choices for one of his most iconic movies.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month, the 71-year-old director addressed previous claims made by Matt Damon that he was offered a role in "Avatar" and a percentage of the film's gross but had to turn it down because he was filming one of the "Jason Bourne" movies.

"He was never offered the part," Cameron said. "I can’t remember if I sent him the script or not. I don’t think I did. Then we wound up on a call, and he said, ‘I love to explore doing a movie with you. I have a lot of respect for you as a filmmaker. ['Avatar'] sounds intriguing. But I really have to do this ‘Jason Bourne’ movie. I’ve agreed to it, it’s a direct conflict, and so, regretfully, I have to turn it down.’

"But he was never offered," Cameron continued. "There was never a deal. We never talked about the character. We never got to that level. It was simply an availability issue."

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The "Titanic" director added that if getting a percentage of the film's gross profit is what it would have taken to get Damon to agree to star in the film, "then it wouldn’t have happened. Trust me on that."

Despite never having offered him the role, Cameron commended Damon for turning down the opportunity to work with him because he was already attached to another film and for calling him personally to let him know.

"He said he didn’t want it to come from the agent. That’s an honorable guy," Cameron said. "So, all respect to Matt. I’d love to work with him someday. But that never happened. It was a conflation of different things that were happening."

Cameron then let Damon "off the hook," telling the actor he "doesn’t have to beat himself up anymore," assuring him he "didn’t miss anything."

Damon previously claimed he almost starred in the film, saying "Jim Cameron called me. He offered me 10% of 'Avatar.'"

"You will never meet an actor who turned down more money than me. … I was in the middle of shooting the 'Bourne' movie and I would have to leave the movie kind of early and leave them in the lurch a little bit, and I didn’t want to do that," he said. "[Cameron] was really lovely. He said, ‘If you don’t do this, this movie doesn’t really need you. It doesn’t need a movie star at all. The movie is the star, the idea is the star and it’s going to work. But if you do it, I’ll give you 10% of the movie.'"

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The role ultimately went to Sam Worthington, who reprised the character in the film's two sequels.

"Avatar" made $2.74 billion at the box office worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time in 2010, when it surpassed "Titanic." It kept the record for the highest-grossing film ever for nine years, before "Avengers: Endgame" took the top spot in April 2019, making $2.79 billion.

It later reclaimed the top spot when it was released again in theaters. Also included on the list are "Avenger Infinity War" and "Avatar: The Way of Water."

Actress Zoe Saldaña stars in all four films, playing Neytiri in the "Avatar" series and superhero Gamora in the "Avengers" movies, making her the only actor to star in four films that grossed over $2 billion at the global box office.

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"I feel grateful and like the luckiest girl in this town knowing that I was invited to join films with special directors in a special cast," she told Deadline in December 2022 about appearing in many different franchises.

"And they resonated with people so much so that we get a chance to come back again and come back another time," she added. "If anything, I've reaped all the benefits of that. I've gained friends. I still have mentors that I call and I lean into."