LeBron James is picking up the tab on Dahntay Jones’ low-blow fine
Way back in the long, long ago of Saturday night, it was Dahntay Jones’ below-the-belt shot on Bismack Biyombo, not Draymond Green’s on Steven Adams, that was drawing denigration and eliciting arched eyebrows:
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After taking nefarious aim at the nether regions of the surprising star center in the closing seconds of the Toronto Raptors’ Game 3 win, the little-used Cleveland Cavaliers reserve received a one-game suspension that will render him unavailable, and without pay, for Monday’s Game 4. Considering Jones was signed on the final day of the regular season to a contract paying him the veteran’s minimum, the one-game penalty isn’t exactly the most punitive financial measure the league could have levied, as detailed by The Vertical’s Bobby Marks and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders:
League would have been better off giving Dahntay Jones a fine instead of a suspension. Suspension = 110 of 2015-16 salary.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 22, 2016
To Bobby’s point – Jones only made $8,819.00 for season, signing at the very last moment of reg. season …
https://t.co/V3BZfFz1eg— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) May 23, 2016
110th of Jones’s salary? $80.17 – yes, eighty dollars and seventeen cents https://t.co/V3BZfFz1eg
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) May 23, 2016
That means the 35-year-old Jones — who has reportedly cleared nearly $18 million in salary over the course of a 12-year NBA career — could’ve covered his bill for less than it’d cost to buy that new color printer he’s wanted for his home office. But don’t worry, Dahntay; you can go ahead and cop that HP Envy 4520. Bron-Bron’s got this, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
LeBron James said he intends to cover the fine imposed on Cleveland Cavaliers reserve Dahntay Jones for the one-game suspension he received for punching Bismack Biyombo in the groin at the end of Game 3. […]
Jones told multiple reporters, including cleveland.com’s Chris Haynes, that his striking of Biyombo was unintentional and that he didn’t know what happened until after the fact.
James told cleveland.com he would “take care” of Jones’ fine, though at the time he didn’t know the dollar amount. He’ll probably be able to find that $80 somewhere. Jones laughed and said James was “just a great guy, anyway.”
On one hand: yes, LeBron — he of the reported billion-dollar lifetime deal with Nike, the maximum contract, and the slew of other endorsements that make him the highest-paid player in the NBA — can handle the $80 without thinking too hard about it. But having money doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eager to spend it, and I’d imagine Jones (and the rest of the Cavs) appreciate the gesture of James offering up his wallet all the same.
Now, if you’re a Raptors fan, you might not think a one-game seat for an end-of-the-bencher and an $80 rip for a south-of-the-border shot in the waning portion of a win represents full-scale justice; the Cavs sure don’t seem to be much the worse for wear following the exchange. Oh, well. Biyombo and the rest of the Raptors will just have to look to take their pound of flesh on the court when the ball goes up on Monday evening.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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