Oh, Mondays in August are just the greatest. Take that back. Mondays in August where news like this drops are just the greatest. Here’s Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski droppin’ it like it’s hot.
Lakers are seriously considering signing free agent Metta World Peace, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. For now, there’s no deal in place.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 24, 2015
Let the record show I am all for this move. Metta can’t be expected to offer much on the court. He was a shell of a shell of a shell of himself when we last saw him in a Lakers uniform and his departure was via the amnesty clause, which speaks to how little value he retained in any kind of trade at the time. That said, there isn’t much of a downside to a training camp invite so long as Byron Scott doesn’t take it upon himself to give him anything near consistent minutes.
Now, the one issue remaining is the roster crunch the Lakers appear to be dealing with. Ryan covered it already for us and Peace would be yet another name down at the bottom of any list of roster hopefuls. If it turns out to be a choice between him and some cheap prospect, then we might have a little more of a discussion.
What Peace does bring, though, is defensive on-court knowledge the Lakers simply won’t find many other places. For guys like Larry Nance, Jr. and Anthony Brown, who will both need to learn on the go this season, who better than Peace to share the prodigious defensive understanding that made him a force in his prime on that side of the court?
Basically, it’s hard to see this hurting the Lakers in any shape or form. Invite the guy to camp, let him compete for a spot and if he makes it, cool. He’ll be doing so with the understanding of what the team is actually looking for. If he doesn’t make the team because he’s well past his prime, fine. It’s to be expected if we’re being completely honest.
I, for one, won’t get in the way of a little more Peace in this world.
