Damon Jones, at the center of two scandals that hit the NBA
The former player is accused of leaking information to gamblers and participating in rigged poker games linked to the Mafia
IF YOU PASSED for the parking lot of players of the Cleveland Cavaliers During the 2006-07 season, you almost certainly saw the Ferrari F430 Spider from LeBron James shining in its Grigio Silverstone paint. But you also probably noticed a customized Mercedes with the “4Point8” license plate.
That was the car Damon Jones.
As a member of the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008, Jones drove fancy cars, wore flashy suits — often with animal print jackets that he (jokingly?) said were real — and talked trash non-stop.
The personalized plaque referenced the time left on the clock when Jones hit the biggest shot of his career: a triple in overtime on May 5, 2006, to seal Game 6 and the first-round series against the Washington Wizards. It was the first playoff series won by the Cavaliers in 13 years.
Jones’ faith in his abilities was unwavering and he was almost unaffected by failure or being teased. That the most memorable clip of his career is LeBron James burying him in 2005 is logical, as is his insistence—for decades—that he was the victim of an offensive foul on that play.
You could bury him, play cards with him, tease and laugh with him. And on the court, if you passed him the ball, there was a good chance he would make a shot.
He was the perfect recipe for being a secondary shooter and teammate off the court. That’s why he became friends with so many stars, including James, Shaquille O’Neal and, his co-defendant in a federal gambling case, Chauncey Billups.
Jones played for nine teams in his first nine years in the NBA. A true globetrotter. He was also an unapologetic showman.
LAST MONTH, JONES He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege he leaked inside information to bettors while he was a volunteer member of the coaching staff. Los Angeles Lakers in 2023 and, in a separate but related case, that he participated in a rigged poker scheme linked to the Mafia.
He pleaded not guilty to both charges on November 8.
“There are probably people very worried about Damon right now,” said one veteran league executive who had him on his team. “He has nothing to lose and nothing to negotiate with…except to rat out others.”
The two federal cases include 34 defendants, and prosecutors said investigations will continue and could expand. There are still two unidentified conspirators described as former NBA players.
The cases grew, in part, thanks to the cooperation of those involved in a separate betting case involving the former player of the Toronto Raptors, Jontay Porter.
Jones earned more than $21 million in his career, but those who know him suspect he spent almost as fast as he earned.
Even by NBA standards, teammates felt Jones was spending well beyond his means. After playing 373 games between 2003 and 2008, his career fell sharply: only 18 games in 2008-09, and out of the league at age 32.
In retirement, his reputation as a shooter and his personality landed him jobs in media and coaching. He was a shooting consultant and then an assistant with the Cavaliers and in the G League from 2014 to 2018, including the 2016 championship team. He also appeared on television, including on AM850.
His personality and his taste for speaking never changed. In a famous example, in 2018 guard JR Smith was suspended for one game for throwing hot chicken tortilla soup on Jones in the team cafeteria.
Smith later said he did it to teach him a lesson for “talking too much.” “I thought about it. It wasn’t a rage shot,” he said on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast in 2023. “It was like, ‘Okay, you’re playing with me. I’m going to show you.’ I thought about it and I threw it at him. He was screaming because it was hot. I was like, ‘See? Now are you going to stop playing with me? Are you going to stop?'”
His overspending habit also did not change after retirement. Friends and former colleagues say Jones frequently took out loans.
During his coaching days in Cleveland, sources say Jones even lived in the guest room of another coach on the team.
“Honestly, I started avoiding him,” said one former NBA player. “I didn’t want to have money conversations.”
Another close friend said: “My wife and I decided I had to stop answering his calls and messages a couple of years ago. We reached the limit over money issues.”
Between 2013 and 2024, Jones filed for bankruptcy twice, was sued at least four times for unpaid loans and twice had eviction notices in Houston, according to NBC News.
In one of the bankruptcies he declared having only $200 in cash, less than $300 in the bank and $2,400 in an IRA. The case was dismissed. In the second, he reported having $50 in cash and less than $50 in the bank. It was also dismissed.
Jones earned $4,000 a month as a consultant with the Cavs, but owed $644,109 to creditors. Among his biggest debts were $86,000 on a Mercedes and $47,000 on the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
In one personal loan case, Jones used his 2016 championship ring as collateral.
This month, his mother and stepfather put up their Houston home as collateral for his $200,000 bail.
JONES KEPT an on-again, off-again friendship with LeBron James for years.
James, who has a very closed circle, was close to Jones during his time in Cleveland and then with the Lakers, where Jones was – unofficially – on the coaching staff in 2022-23 because of the comfort that LeBron felt with him.
“LeBron is very routine,” said one former staff member. “For a while, shooting with D-Jones was part of his routine.”
Jones traveled with the Lakers, went to practices and had access to the locker room and training room, sources say. And, as always, he played cards with them.
The Lakers’ famous “freeze” celebration after big triples was born from an inside joke about Jones’ reactions when he won big hands in cards.
According to the indictment, the FBI found evidence that Jones sold information about the availability of Lakers players in 2023 and 2024.
The players are not mentioned, but details suggest that it was once James and once Anthony Davis.
Prosecutors say the FBI found a message from Jones encouraging a bettor to bet big on Milwaukee because James wouldn’t play:
“Bet big on Milwaukee tonight before the information comes out! (James) isn’t here tonight. Bet enough so Djones can eat now too!”
According to close sources, James did not know that Jones was leaking information about his status.
At the time of the accusation, Jones and James had not spoken for some time, which Jones confessed affected him personally and professionally.
Jones has refused to testify since the arrest.
“My confidence never goes away, never in my life,” Jones said in 2008. “I usually come out the other side smelling like roses.”
