Damon Jones, former NBA player with 11 years of experience, was arrested on Thursday. Authorities accuse him of revealing confidential information about the injury of a “prominent” basketball player to facilitate illegal sports betting. According to sources close to the matter, the player in question is LeBron James. James is not involved in any illicit conduct according to the accusation. Jones is one of 34 arrested in a multi-year investigation spanning nearly a dozen states and involving millions of dollars, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. Among those arrested are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier. The investigation revealed two separate cases: one about illegal sports betting and another about rigged poker games involving the Mafia, authorities announced. Jones, who was part of the staff of former Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham, no longer works with the team under current coach JJ Redick. Ham invited Jones to participate in team activities after James spent the summer of 2022 with Jones present at many of his offseason workouts. A source revealed that James was unaware of the involvement of Jones, his former teammate and assistant coach on the Cleveland Cavaliers, in gambling-related activities while Jones spent time with James and the Lakers during the 2022-23 season. The federal indictment alleges that before a Lakers game against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 9, 2023, Jones texted an accomplice to “make a big bet on Milwaukee tonight” because James would not be playing. James, who had surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in the previous game on February 7, 2023, missed three consecutive games due to a left ankle injury. According to the accusation, Jones added via text message: “Bet enough so Djones [also] can eat now!” Without James, Milwaukee defeated the Lakers 115-106. Furthermore, the accusation alleges that, in the following season, Jones provided non-public information to an accomplice regarding the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 15, 2024. The Lakers did not comment on the accusations against Jones. After Thursday’s practice, Redick stated that the league’s rules against gambling have been reiterated to his team this season, regardless of the FBI investigation.
We’ve had two meetings on the subject already. Obviously, it’s on everyone’s mind, given the last two years, but other than that, there are no further comments.
JJ Redick
