Darren Collison was set to be one of the most sought after guards in free agency this offseason as most teams in contention needed a player of his skillset. The former Indiana Pacer instead decided to hang it up after a 10 season career in the league.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Collison is considering a return to the league and the Lakers and Clippers would his preferred destinations.
Full ESPN story on veteran guard Darren Collison considering return — with Lakers and Clippers emerging as frontrunners. https://t.co/t5WlKqS29w
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 1, 2020
According to Woj, it’s unlikely that Collison returns before the trade deadline with the Memphis Grizzlies being the main hangup.
It is unlikely that a Collison comeback would come before the NBA’s Trade Deadline on February 6. The Lakers and Clippers are also competing to acquire Andre Iguodala, who is waiting for Memphis to trade him.
When Collison retired over the summer, he said he was going to focus more on his faith.
“While I still love basketball, I know there is something more important, which is my family and my faith. I am one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me.
I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched.”
Collison played about a season and a half under Frank Vogel with the Indiana Pacers and spent time with the Clippers and Doc Rivers in 2013-2014.
Collison reached a plea agreement in 2016 for domestic violence and received an eight-game suspension from the NBA for his actions. He released a statement following his guilty plea that read:
Words cannot describe the feelings and regret that I have been experiencing the last few months. My family and I found ourselves in such an unfamiliar situation and it has been a difficult few months. This is far from who I am as a person and not something I am proud of. I take full responsibility for my actions. I have apologized to my beautiful wife that I have known and loved since high schooI. I appreciate and am thankful for the love and understanding from my family, friends and supporters. Now it is time to put this behind us and move forward.
Collison would be an excellent addition to the Lakers guard unit, provided that he is fully committed to a championship run. In the last four years, Collison shot above 40% from 3-point range and scored above 11.2 points per game in each season.
