And-Ones: D. Jones, Prediction Markets, 65-Game Rule, More

Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones is expected to plead guilty to charges related to illegal betting, according to reports from Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic and Michael R. Sisak of The Associated Press.

Jones, one of nearly three-dozen people arrested in connection to a federal investigation into illegal sports gambling, was accused of profiting from a rigged poker game and of providing inside information to sports bettors. Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was also arrested and charged in the former case, while Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested and charged in the latter.

Jones, one of three defendants named in each of the two indictments, originally pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in both cases last November. However, he has decided to change his plea. According to Vorkunov, Jones is due to appear in a federal court in Brooklyn on April 28, though Sisak says his change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for May 6.

While Jones never held a formal coaching position with the Lakers, he’s a longtime friend of LeBron James who was often around the team and would occasionally fly with the players to road games. Federal prosecutors have accused Jones of using his access to sell non-public information to gamblers, most notably in relation to a game on February 9, 2023 between the Lakers and Bucks, which James sat out. Jones allegedly sent a text message to an unnamed co-conspirator that read, “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• The NBA is engaged in talks with Kalshi and Polymarket about a potential prediction-market deal, reports Ben Horney of Front Office Sports. Sources tell Horney that the NBA would like to gain a measure of control over which markets are permitted and wants to ensure there are mechanisms in place to “monitor suspicious trading patterns.” The NHL has already reached deals with Kalshi and Polymarket, while MLB agreed to an exclusive partnership with Polymarket.
• Although Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham were granted award eligibility on Thursday through the appeals process, the National Basketball Players Association would still like to see the 65-game rule eliminated or modified, according to Dan Woike, Sam Amick, and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. A league source tells The Athletic that the rule was initially proposed by the league and eventually accepted by the players’ union, but the NBPA no longer supports it.
• Eric Nehm and Fred Katz of The Athletic takes a look at the top first-time head coaching candidates from around the NBA, including Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney, Heat assistant Chris Quinn, and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, among several others.
• The NBA announced this week that it boasted impressive viewership numbers in 2025/26, the first year of its new $76 billion media rights deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBC. As The Associated Press relays, the NBA said the average viewership of games across ABC/ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, NBC/Peacock, and NBA TV was up 35% from last season and reached its highest mark in 13 seasons. The league added that 170 million people in the U.S. watched NBA games on those four broadcast platforms this season, the highest total in 24 years and an 86% increase on last season’s total.