Far harder to understand is how the union could conduct such a critical vote before the season — before numerous teams had even gotten together to select new player reps. Just to illustrate a few examples: DeAndre Jordan (Nets), Devonte’ Graham (Hornets), Paul Millsap (Nuggets), Sterling Brown (Rockets) and Jared Dudley (Lakers) were all listed as player reps last season and have since switched teams (or retired in Dudley’s case). Sources say that multiple teams thus had no representative participating in the vote on the day Tremaglio was chosen to succeed Roberts.
Jared Dudley Rumors
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Jared Dudley
Position: -
Born: 07/10/85
Height: 6-6 / 1.98
Weight:225 lbs. / 102.1 kg.
Earnings: $62,197,534 ($67,081,489*)
Born: 07/10/85
Height: 6-6 / 1.98
Weight:225 lbs. / 102.1 kg.
Earnings: $62,197,534 ($67,081,489*)
Michael Scotto: I know they’ve gotten a lot of flack because they’re older, but the Lakers improved on paper. You’ll have some chemistry questions there with Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James if that trio will fit together. 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.
Lakers didn't offer Jared Dudley a coaching job
Word is that the Lakers did not offer Dudley a coaching role to stay once they made it clear that they were not holding a roster spot for him. The reality, though, is that a behind-the-bench position likely would have been insufficient to keep him in Los Angeles given that the Mavericks promised to install Dudley alongside former Suns head coach Igor Kokoškov and Sean Sweeney (who will be coaching under Kidd for the third time) as one of Kidd’s top three aides.
Jared Dudley: 'LeBron and Davis wanted me back'
It appears they didn’t want him as a player because they felt that, with their aging team, they need youthful depth. They apparently never discussed the possibility that he would retire and become a coach. “Obviously LeBron and A.D. wanted me back,” said Dudley. “But we just couldn’t convince them.”
Dudley played a total of 81 minutes last season, but his impact was timeless. He scored a total of 74 points in two seasons, but his intangibles were countless. “I thought I was coming back to the Lakers,” said Dudley, 36, in a phone interview. “This is crazy.”
“I talked to Rob and Kurt, I thanked them, but I told them, you’re valuing youth more than a locker room presence guy,” Dudley said. “I said, ‘I respect you for doing that, but I think you’re wrong,’” Half the players on the Lakers were recruited there by Dudley. Several younger players were mentored by Dudley. After Kyle Kuzma was traded earlier this month, someone on Twitter asked him to cite his greatest teammate, and he responded, “Duds and it’s not even close.”
