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The Los Angeles Lakers were right to let Jared Dudley walk away

By Jason Reed

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 12: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers high fives Jared Dudley #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 12, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 12: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers high fives Jared Dudley #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 12, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Jared Dudley was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers for the last two seasons and while he hardly played, he did seem to have an impact on the team. Dudley was touted as a great teammate and locker room presence, even if he did not play that much on the court.

Dudley is no longer with the Lakers as he signed to be part of Jason Kidd’s staff in Dallas. Dudley is following Kidd, who left from being an assistant on the Lakers to be the head coach of the Mavericks. There was likely some recruitment there between Kidd and Dudley.

LeBron James did not take too kindly to this news, taking the time to tweet an expletive in response to the news. That simply showed how good of a teammate Dudley is, especially when it is LeBron vouching for you.

While LeBron might be upset, the Los Angeles Lakers made the right decision.

Why the Los Angeles Lakers made the right decision with Jared Dudley:

The question that I would ask anyone who wanted to see Jared Dudley return is what he would be giving the team for that extra salary (and luxury tax bill)? This is a team full of veterans. It is the oldest team in the league.

What is Dudley going to help Carmelo Anthony with? What is he going to tell Wayne Ellington? Sure, there are guys like Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn, but they have plenty of other veterans to latch onto.

There was no more Kyle Kuzma (who was close with Dudley), Alex Caruso, or other young players. This is a completely new team and while he might be fun to have in a locker room, his value as a veteran presence simply is not as high and not worth the money.

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Could the Lakers have hired him as an assistant coach? Sure. But there really is no place for him on the staff, either. The Lakers would simply be hiring him to make LeBron happy, which might be a good enough reason to sign him, but you can’t blame the Lakers for not hiring someone with no coaching experience for a coaching spot they did not need.

The Mavericks needed to build out a staff around Kidd and it makes more sense for Dudley to try and make an impact there. The Mavericks are a young team led by a young star in Luka Doncic. While Dudley was never as good as Doncic already is, he can aid in his development.

Just because it was a good fit for two years did not mean the Lakers had to force the partnership for any longer than they did. Jared Dudley got to extend his career for two years and the Lakers got two years of him being a good teammate.

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All good things must come to an end and this was the perfect time for this relationship to come to an end. Sorry, LeBron.

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