.jpg)
1 hour ago
3
Fascinatingly, it’s never too late to renounce a player’s free agent rights, even if they’ve already retired and started a new career.
Luka Doncic’s 41-year-old former Dallas Mavericks assistant coach, who won a championship with the Lakers in 2020, isn’t an active player with Los Angeles or any NBA team, for that matter. Still, on Wednesday, the Boston College product learned that the Lakers officially cut ties with him five years after his final game with the franchise (and in the NBA).
“The Los Angeles Lakers have officially renounced the free agent rights to LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Dion Waiters, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber, Nick Smith Jr, Jared Dudley, Avery Bradley, Jaxson Hayes, Markieff Morris, and Wayne Ellington,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto stated on X/Twitter.
Dudley enjoyed a lengthy 14-year NBA career after being selected by the Charlotte Hornets (formerly the Bobcats) in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft (No. 22 overall). The San Diego, California native managed to last for over a decade thanks to infectious energy on both ends and dependable three-point shooting as a role player.
By the time Dudley landed with the Lakers in 2019, though, he was no longer a serviceable asset deserving of 15.0+ minutes per game. The former ACC player of the Year averaged 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds during his two-year stint with Los Angeles, shooting 31.1% from the field and 38.1% from the field (low volume) in 7.4 minutes.
Dudley retired from the NBA after the 2020-21 campaign and soon joined the Mavericks’ coaching staff (2021). Dudley coached Doncic in Dallas for 3.5 years before taking an assistant coaching position with the Denver Nuggets (he just completed his first season with the franchise).
Now, the 6,633-point scorer can officially move on from Los Angeles, as if he hadn’t already.
More NBA news:
English (US)