Although the Los Angeles Lakers already have three centers and Anthony Davis can also play the fifth place in the small-ball lineup, it seems that it is only a matter of time before Gasol Jr. officially leaves the team, so if there is a suitable opportunity, the Lakers will also consider increasing the depth of the interior, and Damian Jones's name is once again associated with the Purple and Gold.
According to relevant reports in the US media, the Lakers were originally ready to sign back center Damian Jones this offseason, but they did not expect that the Kings would regularize Damian Jones' contract with inside players such as Rickon Holmes, Marvin Bagley, Alex Lane and Tristan Thompson. Of course, the Lakers are not ready to give up, their attitude is very clear, if the next Damian Jones is given up by the King again or not reused, the Lakers will still consider taking him back to Los Angeles.
In the 2016 draft, Damian Jones was selected with the 30th pick in the first round and the last to be selected, and he came to the Golden State Warriors, which was a lucky and sad result for Damian Jones. The reason why I say this is because Damian Jones won the championship with the Warriors in the first two years of his career, and it is important to know that many stars have worked hard all their lives and can only retire with the regret of not having a championship in their careers. But on the other hand, due to the Warriors' talent, the team did not have so much time to train him in order to compete for the championship, which made Damian Jones only play a total of 25 games in the first two years of his career, and the rest of the time he had to either wave a towel off the court to cheer his teammates on, or be sent to the development league to exercise.
The following 18-19 season was followed by the departure of many interior veterans, including David West, Zaza Pachulia and Javier McGee, Damian Jones had a good opportunity to take the position, and in the first half of the season he played as the team's starting center, he also seized the opportunity, the statistics improved significantly compared to the previous two years, and overall he was a decent interior blue-collar worker. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and in the December 2018 game against the Pistons, Damian Jones tore his left pectoral muscle and was reimbursed early for the regular season. Although he quickly recovered and finally returned to the line of fire when he waited for the Western Conference Finals, the overall performance was mediocre, and the Warriors, who were full of injuries, also lost to the Raptors in the Finals and failed to achieve a three-game championship.
In the summer of 2019, the Warriors launched a major purge of the lineup, in addition to the departure of champions such as Kevin Durant, André Iguodala and Andrew Bogut, Sean Livingston also chose to retire, Damian Jones was also sent to the Eagles in the final year of his rookie contract. The following 19-20 season he also played a few good games in his new club, including Demian Jones scoring a career-high 20 points against the Nets. But even so, he still did not win the favor of the Hawks, because the team already had John Collins, and in the middle of the season, he also exchanged the "pie king" Clint Capela, so after damian Jones's contract expired, the Hawks did not leave him.
Damien Jones played for the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings last season, and in 8 games for the Purple and Gold, Damian Jones played 6 of them as a starter, but unfortunately after two short 10-day contracts expired, the Lakers still did not leave him. At the time, it was because the Lakers already had three centers, Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol and Monterrez Harrell, while Anthony Davis, Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma were in the frontcourt, and Damian Jones, as a temporary worker, became a victim. Of course, in hindsight, the Lakers' three centers at that time have gone two, and the remaining one may also leave, which is really regrettable. Damian Jones joined the Kings in the second half of last season, averaging more than 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career, and he was also able to cut 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1 block, a number of regular statistics to set a career high.
The reason why the Lakers are still interested in Damian Jones is because some of the latter's own advantages can provide obvious help to the team. First of all, the Lakers are now in the lineup of veterans who have entered the twilight of their careers, and Damian Jones has just turned 26 years old, which is in the year of playing, which can provide the Lakers with much-needed vitality and athletic talent. Secondly, Damian Jones has a strong basket finishing ability, very good at eating inside cakes, last season during the Lakers during his shooting rate of more than 90%, if you think the sample is too small to have any reference value, Damian Jones last season in the final stage of the King's shooting rate also 66%. Finally, he is a qualified interior blue-collar worker, rebounding protection and defensive ability are more reliable, but also can really improve the team's interior depth. All in all, whether it is the opportunity to renew the front edge with the Lakers, or stay with the Kings or join other teams, I wish Damian Jones all the best in the future and cash in on all his talents as soon as possible.