Damon Jones was not happy that former boss Tyronn Lue missed out on his dream job when the Los Angeles Lakers dissolved negotiations after coming to an impasse in contractual matters.
However, Jones, who was on Lue's staff for two-and-a-half seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, argued the Lakers botched this coaching search from the very start.
“I'm extremely disappointed Greeny, because this situation was botched from the beginning,” Jones told host Mike Greenberg on Tuesday's iteration of ESPN's Get Up!. “First of all we talk about the optics of LeBron running the organization and we don't want that — we don't want Cleveland Cavaliers all over again, but shouldn't the optics be about winning?”
The Lakers' process of hiring their next head coach was "botched from the beginning," according to @D19J. pic.twitter.com/Nt9TSDtw56
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 14, 2019
It didn't take long for Jones to rattle off the rest of his rant.
“For a franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs in six years, you shouldn't worry about anything but winning — and here it is, a candidate that has been to three straight Finals, who's won a championship with your superstar player and you come in and you offer him a below-market deal — a three-year deal at $6 million [per year]. It's been reported that they offered Frank Vogel three years and $15 million, so right at $5 million a year.
“I don't know what's going on in L.A. I think Kurt Rambis is the one making the decisions, and I think he made a bad one.”
It's worth noting that Jones has deep connections to Lue and also LeBron James from his time in the NBA and around the Cavs' coaching staff.
Jones noted James and his camp really wanted Lue to become the next head coach, but that all went away after talks stalled and the Lakers restarted their coaching search, ultimately landing Vogel as the head coach and Jason Kidd as an assistant.
Follow Us
Subscribe