LeBron James open to paying Dahntay Jones’ fine
By John Buhler
LeBron James has volunteered to pay teammate Dahntay Jones’ fine for his late game hit on Bismack Biyombo in Game 3’s loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James is reportedly on board with paying teammate Dahntay Jones’ fine stemming from his late game hit on the Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo in Game 3’s loss at the Air Canada Centre.
Jones is suspended for Game 4 on Monday night in Toronto after striking Biyombo in the groin with his fist. However, James seems fine with picking up the tab on Jones’ message.
James had volunteered to pay the fine before the amount was ultimately levied by the NBA. Well, the fine is only $80, as Jones played in only one 2015-16 regular season game. His season salary was only $8,800.
James told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that he planned to “take care” of Jones’ fine, regardless of the allocated dollar amount. Jones laughed about the whole thing and said that James “was a great guy.”
Cleveland just didn’t have an answer for Biyombo in Game 3 on Saturday night, as he clobbered the Cavaliers on the glass with well over 25 rebounds. The Cavaliers will have to do a better job of holding their own on the boards if they don’t want to bring a 2-2 series tie back to Quicken Loans Arena for Wednesday night’s Game 5.
In what was a poor showing by Cleveland in Game 3, James’ kind gesture to pick up the tab on 15th-man Jones probably signifies that the Cavaliers are in a good spot mentally entering the halfway point of their best-of-seven series with Toronto.
Given that James makes more money than anybody on the team with combined salary and endorsements, the $80 tab is virtually nothing to him. However this gesture could put Cleveland in good spirits after their first loss of the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
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