Lakers renege on deal after STD lawsuit emerges
After planning to sign a player to a 10-day contract, the Lakers have reneged on the deal after an STD lawsuit was brought against him.
Jamil Wilson was the player the Lakers were going to sign with their open roster spot after waiving Andrew Bogut.
But according to ESPN, the team withdrew the deal after TMZ reported Wednesday that a woman filed a lawsuit against Wilson alleging that she contracted a sexually transmitted disease while the two were dating.
The woman claims the two began dating in November 2016, at which point he knew he had the STD but didn’t tell her. The two had a sexual relationship, and in June 2017 she was diagnosed with herpes simplex type 2.
TMZ also reported the woman is suing Wilson for sexual battery and fraud because her consent was based on the assumption that he was disease-free. She is also seeking damages for the emotional distress that Wilson caused her.
Wilson’s agent, Steve McCaskill of Catalyst Sports, spoke out against the woman’s lawsuit and suggested there could be a countersuit.
“Jamil has been irreparably harmed by the recent accusation, which has now resulted in damage to his NBA career,” said McCaskill. “We will not tolerate these false accusations, but will pursue all legal remedies with the full force of the law.”
While the Lakers won’t be signing Wilson at this time, they left the door open for a possible deal in the future — that is, presumably, if Wilson gets this situation taken care of.
Wilson is in his rookie season after signing a two-way contract with the Clippers this past offseason. He played in 15 games with started 10 as the Clippers have been ravaged with injuries to every position except center.
The 27-year-old rookie averaged 7.0 points per game and shot 43 percent from 3-point range. His last game in a Clippers uniform was the best game of his career as he scored 17 points vs. the Kings two weeks ago.
But even after that game, he said he knew his days were numbered on the Clippers roster. He was nearing the 45-day limit for players on two-way contracts, which meant he would be sent back to the G-League, signed to a standard NBA contract or released.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. “Some days I wake up and you just don’t know what’s going to happen. Sometimes that can make you timid and kind of put you in a funk. But then you just kind of embrace the moment. Being around these guys, it’s a great feeling.
“They don’t let you feel sorry for yourself or anything like that. It a little nerve-racking, but at the same time you’ve still got a job to do. At the end of the day, it’s still basketball. The ball is still orange. The goal is still 10 feet. You try to use that to bring you back down to earth.”
Clippers coach Doc Rivers acknowledged the team was in a tough situation due to the construction of its roster. The Clippers also had another two-way player in guard C.J. Williams who was facing a similar situation.
“It’s going to be tough,” Rivers said. “I won’t tell you our plans, but they’re not going to be great, I can tell you that. That’s all I can tell you. You’ll see. No, we just don’t have a lot of good options. We have to play [Wilson and Williams] right now because we need them, and they’re playing great.”
With the Clippers accumulating injuries in their backcourt, they elected to keep Williams and waive Wilson. The forward was replaced on the roster with G-League call-up Tyrone Wallace.
The Lakers seemed like the perfect landing spot for Wilson as he wouldn’t even have to relocate or change his route to the home arena. But he remains a free agent.
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