NBA Free Agency News: Jared Dudley Wanted LeBron James To ‘Sign Off’ On Him Signing With Lakers
Lakers News: Jared Dudley Wanted Lebron James To ‘sign Off’ On Him Joining L.a.
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

In what has been likely the craziest summer in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers were initially quiet.

As the Lakers waited on Kawhi Leonard’s decision, they signed just two players — Troy Daniels and Jared Dudley to minimum deals in an effort to preserve a max-contract slot, hoping for Leonard to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The Dudley signing has been almost universally praised by Lakers fans and the media due to his important role as a veteran leader for the 2018-19 Brooklyn Nets team. And Dudley, who is from San Diego and grew up a Lakers fan, called it a dream to suit up for the purple and gold.

However, in the process of choosing the Lakers, Dudley wanted to make sure he got the approval of the team’s leader in James. It’s something Dudley felt was very important due to his status as a role player, according to “The Woj Pod” by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

“For one, you want LeBron to have to sign off on it. You want LeBron to want to play with you. You know, I’m not an All-Star player, but I am a part of the team. You can ask any player, Giannis, Devin Booker, John Wall, when it comes to a locker room, I control the locker room. That’s something I knew I could help with here. So yeah, there’s communication there. So once I got the okay from LeBron, when he signed off on it, it was like, ‘hey, we’re going to make it happen.’”

It’s often been said of James-led teams that he is in charge of — or at least plays a huge role in — making roster decisions alongside the front office. And while that isn’t necessarily true, it can’t be a negative thing to know that James is signing off on the players that eventually play for the team.

Dudley is a very coveted role player around the NBA, due to his locker room presence and on-court spacing. This means that it was likely a very simple conversation with James to ‘get his approval.’

It’s also nice to know that players want to play with James, Davis, and the Lakers — even willing to take less money to do so.

You May Also Like

Lakers News: Rockets’ Dwight Howard Wishes LA Fans Best In Exit

Dwight Howard can’t officially become a member of the Houston Rockets until…

Lakers News: Mike Krzyzewski Speaks To How Great Kobe Bryant & LeBron James Were As Teammates On Team USA

Since the tragic passing of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, there have been former and current players and coaches…

Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Hired Film Crew to Shoot Final Season After Learning of Michael Jordan Footage

The NBA has been on hiatus since March 11 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, leaving a massive…

Lakers News: LeBron James Responds To Kyrie Irving Controversy Saying He Doesn’t Condone ‘Hate Of Any Kind’

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has never been one to be afraid to speak on social issues to hit close to for him…