Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard and assistant coach Damon Jones is one of several folks with NBA ties who is now in legal hot water. He’s just one of the 30-plus people (many of whom aren’t connected to the league) who were arrested Thursday for alleged ties to illegal sports gambling and/or rigged poker games. When it comes to Jones, he’s accused of being involved in both cases.
Of note to NBA fans is that Jones allegedly leaked information that wasn’t public about Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James’ availability to gamblers during the 2022-23 season, something James was reportedly unaware of. Jones also allegedly shared info on a top Lakers player during the 2023-24 season.
It’s worth noting that while Jones has never served as an official coach with the Lakers, he did get access to work with James in the 2022-23 season, and the two have been described as friends.
Not only that, but they were teammates on the Cavaliers during James’ first stint in Cleveland. Jones played alongside James from the 2005-06 season through the 2007-08 campaign, and he was a solid bench contributor on the Cavs team that reached the 2007 NBA Finals.
The now 49-year-old then became a member of the Cavaliers’ coaching staff for part of James’ second act with them and was an assistant with them for a few years. He was initially added to their staff for the 2016 NBA Playoffs, which allowed him to be part of a championship run.
As mentioned, Jones is alleged to have participated in more wrongdoing than simply sharing inside NBA info, as he will also have to deal with the ramifications of being linked to the poker scandal.
What will become of Jones and the other NBA folks who got arrested is unclear, but what is clear is that they are all staring at some real consequences. It certainly hasn’t been a great day for the NBA after the league enjoyed a couple of exciting days to begin its season this week.
