Jared Dudley told Rob Pelinka and Lakers that they were wrong for valuing young players over his locker room presence

Former Los Angeles Lakers veteran Jared Dudley told Rob Pelinka and Kurt Rambis that they were making the wrong decision when they chose not to re-sign him.

“I talked to Rob and Kurt, I thanked them, but I told them, you’re valuing youth more than a locker room presence guy,” Dudley told Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. “I said, ‘I respect you for doing that, but I think you’re wrong.’”

For any team, having a glue guy in the locker room is a very important thing. Dudley certainly played that role with L.A. It helped guide the team to a title in the 2019-20 season.

He wasn’t a major producer from a statistical standpoint. He averaged just 1.3 points per game with the Lakers, and he didn’t get much playing time. However, he brought value to the table in other ways.

Chemistry can make or break a team’s success, and the Lakers are seemingly hoping that Dudley’s departure won’t negatively impact the atmosphere in the locker room.

Time will tell if L.A.’s talented roster outweighs any potential chemistry issues.