According to Marc Stein, Dudley was “widely expected” to return as the Lakers' 15th man in a Udonis Haslem-esque leadership role. However, the Lakers prefer to keep their final roster spot free for a buyout candidate, and were not open to offering Dudley a position on Frank Vogel's staff.
“The Lakers’ apparent preference, however, is to carry only 14 players and keep the 15th spot open for a down-the-road move, prompting Dudley to take the Dallas Mavericks' offer to start his coaching career with a front-of-the-bench spot on Jason Kidd's first Mavericks staff,” Stein writes.
“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,” Stein added. “The reality, though, is that a behind-the-bench position likely would have been insufficient to keep him in Los Angeles.”
Dudley spoke to the Los Angeles Times on Thursday and revealed that he made the case for his value to the Lakers brass, only to be rebuffed.
“Obviously LeBron and AD wanted me back,” said Dudley. “But we just couldn’t convince them.”
“No one owed me anything, Rob and Kurt were honest and upfront, nothing but respect and gratitude to them and Jeanie [Buss], I will be forever thankful for the opportunity they gave me,” Dudley added. “But I did want to come back. I did think I could help the team, especially having so many new players, but I understand they wanted to get younger.”
Now, Dudley can offer his mentorship to another star, Luka Doncic.
About the Author
Michael Corvo has been the Los Angeles Lakers beat reporter for ClutchPoints since 2021. He also covers golf, entertainment and movies for the site. One day, he hopes to see the New York Jets win another playoff game. More about Michael Corvo
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