Former NBA player Damon Jones has been arrested this Thursday on charges of revealing insider information about injuries of a “prominent” basketball player to facilitate illegal sports betting, authorities reported. According to sources close to the matter, the player in question is LeBron James, who is not implicated in the accusation. Jones is among the 34 people arrested, along with Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, in a multi-year investigation spanning nearly a dozen states and involving millions of dollars, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. 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 unofficially and without pay part of the staff of former Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham, is no longer 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. The source indicated that James was unaware of the involvement of Jones, his former teammate and assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, in betting activities when Jones was around 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 surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in the previous game on February 7, 2023, would miss three consecutive games due to left ankle discomfort. According to the accusation, Jones added via text message: “Bet enough so Djones can eat [too] 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 in relation to the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 15, 2024. The Lakers did not comment on the allegations against Jones when contacted. Redick, speaking after Thursday’s practice, said 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 about it already. Obviously it’s on everyone’s mind given the last two years, but other than that, there are no further comments.
JJ Redick
