The basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest is back in the NBA. Metta World Peace has agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced on Thursday.
Metta World Peace is back in the NBA
The former Defensive Player of the Year has signed a one-year contract to return to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
The move was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The former Defensive Player of the Year and NBA champion last played in an NBA game in February of 2014.
World Peace has been working out at the Lakers’ practice facility throughout the offseason against several players on the team, including 2014 first-round pick Julius Randle. The thought is that World Peace can be a mentor to Randle, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in his first regular-season game.
World Peace helped the Lakers win a championship in 2010 before being waived via the amnesty clause in 2013. He signed with the Knicks that summer, but failed to make much of an impact and instead went to play in China and Italy. World Peace, who turns 36 in November, remains close with Kobe Bryant and told TMZ in late August that he would “absolutely” welcome a reunion.
Yet it’s not clear if World Peace has much left as a player. He played fewer than 400 minutes with the Knicks and quickly found himself out of the rotation when then-coach Mike Woodson elected not to use him in a small lineup alongside Carmelo Anthony. The Lakers don’t really have a true small forward on the roster, but World Peace surely isn’t being signed for his on-court value.
See More:
