Lakers sign Metta World Peace

[Hangman]

One year deal.

I hope he regained his game.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

All he's got to do is defend. Lakers have more than enough scorers.

 

[lakersrule]

A non-guaranteed one-year deal. He will have to prove himself at camp.

 

[lakersrule]

1. Bryant
2. Hibbert
3. Williams
4. Young
5. Russell
6. Randle
7. Bass
8. Kelly
9. Nance
10. Sacre
11. Black
12. Clarkson
13. J Brown
14. A Brown
15. Huertas
16. Upshaw
17. Frazier
18. Holmes
19. MWP

One more training camp spot open.

 

[wildturkey]

Like I said in a thread here when the rumors first started a month ago, its a waste of spot. It's short-sighted. He cannot help them on court in any way. What they want him for can be accomplished by either making him a coach or a special advisor like Kareem has been or what the Warriors just hired Steve Nash as (seriously LA, you couldn't throw more cash at him for the same role?). His game is done. He can't play at this level anymore and its why he's been out of the league for 3 (2?) years now. Use the camp spot for somebody that might actually have some small shot at a future. He should not make this team.

Plus, they've got vets on the roster to help younger guys out. Along with Kobe, there's Williams, Hibbert, and Bass. In fact, Brandon Bass is the exact type of player you want in the role of veteran mentor. He's been around awhile on several teams so he's been in multiple systems and played with all types of personalities. And has been productive every where he's been as both a starter and a role player off the bench. And more importantly, he's not batshit crazy. I don't care if Artest knows the tricks or can watch film and diagnose everything like a top notch coach, if you watched him play, you know he freelanced waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much.That's not the kind of habits you want to pass down. His unique skill as an elite defender being the only thing that kept coaches from yanking him off the floor. That's not really something you can teach either. The principles, sure, but you either have that elite knack or you don't. Like you aren't turning average NBA joe into Dennis Rodman by staying an extra hour in the gym.

 

[Retroram52]

We shall see how this plays out.

 

[DJ]

He gets released when they make their final roster cuts.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

One year deal.

I hope he regained his game.

He hasn't, but he will come off the bench for 12 to 14 minutes at the most and he will scrimmage with Randle and be a great player coach that can teach Randle how to become a man in the NBA. It's a good signing

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Like I said in a thread here when the rumors first started a month ago, its a waste of spot. It's short-sighted. He cannot help them on court in any way. What they want him for can be accomplished by either making him a coach or a special advisor like Kareem has been or what the Warriors just hired Steve Nash as (seriously LA, you couldn't throw more cash at him for the same role?). His game is done. He can't play at this level anymore and its why he's been out of the league for 3 (2?) years now. Use the camp spot for somebody that might actually have some small shot at a future. He should not make this team.

Plus, they've got vets on the roster to help younger guys out. Along with Kobe, there's Williams, Hibbert, and Bass. In fact, Brandon Bass is the exact type of player you want in the role of veteran mentor. He's been around awhile on several teams so he's been in multiple systems and played with all types of personalities. And has been productive every where he's been as both a starter and a role player off the bench. And more importantly, he's not batshit crazy. I don't care if Artest knows the tricks or can watch film and diagnose everything like a top notch coach, if you watched him play, you know he freelanced waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much.That's not the kind of habits you want to pass down. His unique skill as an elite defender being the only thing that kept coaches from yanking him off the floor. That's not really something you can teach either. The principles, sure, but you either have that elite knack or you don't. Like you aren't turning average NBA joe into Dennis Rodman by staying an extra hour in the gym.

It's not even a guaranteed contract, the Lakers are very thin in the small forwards, this gives the Lakers another small forward to back Randle up and be a teacher on defense. How can the Lakers go wrong when they can cut him loose any time they want?

 

[trojanfan12]

Overall, this signing is no big deal. Personally, I tend to agree with wildturkey that I'd prefer that they use the spot on someone who at least has a shot at eventually being something than on a guy who's 35 and whose best years are behind him. Fortunately, it's a non-guaranteed contract, so there is zero risk for the Lakers.

Mitch and Byron seem to think he has a little something left. However, there are no guarantees for him and according to Mitch, training camp is going to be very important for him:

I watched him the last 6 weeks. He can still be very effective on the court. But these are scrimmages that last 15-20 minutes, it's not an 82 game schedule. Training camp will be very important for him.

Both Mitch and Byron like how hard he is making Randle work. Mitch said:

It's almost comical how hard they have played against each other. I'm not sure who gets the better of it. I would be surprised if either player admitted to anybody after practice that they hurt more than they did before practice.

Byron said:

We know what kind of defender he is. He's going to get on you. He's strong, he's physical, he's tough. He's made Julius work, which I think is great. Then, when the game is over, he's always talking to Julius about things he thinks Julius can do better.

End of the day, if all that comes of this is MWP continues to work with Randle through training camp and teaches him a few things before being cut, it's a good thing for the Lakers. If MWP really does have a little left and actually makes the team (which would surprise me), that's fine too. As long as he doesn't go Ron-Ron on them, he and Kobe can teach these youngsters a few things this season.

 

[wildturkey]

It's not even a guaranteed contract, the Lakers are very thin in the small forwards, this gives the Lakers another small forward to back Randle up and be a teacher on defense. How can the Lakers go wrong when they can cut him loose any time they want?

Because of what he realistically can provide can easily be done by not giving him a roster spot and just making him a coach/advisor. Sure, financially there's zero real risk, but that doesn't mean its entirely wise move. I don't know if some training camp invitee will hit and be a worthwhile player for years to come. All I know is there's a chance, albeit a very very small once that's not worth stressing over much, but a small chance nonetheless. However, I know with 99.9% certainty that Ron Artest has no future in the NBA as a player. I see no value in having him as a player. I'd rather have my cake and eat it too with him as an advisor and some young random guy trying to make the team.