The Los Angeles Lakers have seen an influx of players arrive in free agency, but some had their tenure with the franchise come to an end.
One of them was Jared Dudley, who spent his last two seasons with the Lakers. Dudley featured on the court more often in his first season compared to his second because of a ligament tear in his knee; he usually wasn’t in the rotation either his second season as the team’s 15th man.
After the Lakers came down to needing three more roster spots to be filled this summer, the plan was to use only two of them on a third point guard and a wing. Rajon Rondo eventually came in as the third guard.
Those intentions pushed Dudley, who was a free agent, out of the picture for a roster spot next season. Instead, the Dallas Mavericks picked up Dudley to be an assistant coach on Jason Kidd’s staff.
Despite LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ pleas for Dudley’s return, the Lakers front office wasn’t on the same page.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Dudley didn’t want to play anywhere else but the Lakers:
“Jared Dudley told me he was either going back to the Lakers, or he was going to retire. He wasn’t looking to go anywhere else and play.”
There was speculation L.A. could’ve given Dudley a front-office or coaching role to avoid losing his presence on the sidelines, but that never materialized.
Now, Dudley, a 14-year veteran on the court, will begin the next chapter of his career in the NBA.
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