In the unbalanced Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers are accurately overlooked when considering Playoff contenders. There is far too much talent in the league’s superior coast. Golden State, San Antonio, Los Angeles (The Clippers that is [knife twisting sound]), Houston, Oklahoma City and Memphis are all absolute locks. Then the subsequent mess of first round fodder falls into formation, featuring the Suns, Jazz, Mavericks and New Orleans. None of those teams should reach the second round. It’s almost as if the lottery, draft and free agency have all cast aside swagger, stature and clout, as they disregarded Hollywood’s premiere franchise, continuing basketball activities without the Laker’s participation. The former Minnesota franchise has had it’s share of recent setbacks, Julius Randle suffered a broken leg in his very first NBA game, they traded for Roy Hibbert (I kid, I kid, this could actually end up paying off for them, but man ‘dat salary), then there’s also this guy named Kobe that lost a couple of games to injury the past few seasons. They did end up drafting play making point guard D’Angelo Russell with the second pick in the draft, who will likely become a solid player in the NBA. But that may not happen for a little while and keep in mind, the Lakers are working with a somewhat compressed timetable.
A quick glance at the Laker’s roster leaves fans with little optimism. The cupboard is as bare as the Broadway parade route in New York City after the NBA Finals (Shots fired). The Lakers also possess little flexibility in regards to tradable salaries. However, one things for sure, what the Laker’s payroll lacks in talent, it more than makes up for in financial overcompensation (Shots fired). Fortunately for LA, upon the coming season’s completion, the fat will be trimmed, primarily in the bloated contracts of Kobe Bryant and Roy Hibbert. It still feels strange to regard a top ten all time player in Kobe as an albatross, but sometimes the facts just hit you in the face as if you were Kurt Rambis driving on Kevin Mchale. The questions do remain as to whether free agents will realistically consider the Lakers a viable destination, as the franchise was largely overlooked this offseason. Which leads us adeptly down the path of rumor speculation (what else is there to do during this time of the year) and delivers us unwittingly at the feet of none of than Metta Worldpeace.
Ron Artest, Metta Worldpeace, Panda’s Friend, Battle Chicken. Only three of those are names he’s actually played under, do you know which is which? That Artest one looks kind of odd right? To say that adding Metta Worldpeace to your team is a topic requiring much discussion, could quite possibly be the slightest of understatement. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak needs to weigh all the options on the table with Artest/Worldpeace/Friend, of which there are many. On the plus side, in today’s small-ball focused NBA, an effective stretch four (which is what RMP [Ron-Metta-Panda’s] would end up playing) is worth it’s weight in gold. RMP is a more than capable defender, can occasionally hit from outside and even handle the ball a little bit. On the negative side, the grains of sand still dwelling in the sane portion of the hourglass seem to be diminishing.
GMs across the league are enamored with the stretch four position. Look no further than the defensive cornerstone of the current champion to reveal the envy of every competitive franchise. Teams are desperate to find their own Draymond Green. Yes, Steph has the scoring and the handle, Klay has the shot, Iggy has the defense, but Draymond does everything and can guard anyone. League wide Draymond, or rather a player of Draymond’s ilk is an asset all teams crave. Undoubtedly this is the spark that lit the Laker’s powder keg of interest in RMP’s potential Los Angeles return. This is by no means an expression of confidence that Worldpeace would return and present the Lakers with a player of Draymond’s stature.
Currently the Lakers reside in a somewhat desirable position, there is little risk for the team and even lesser expectation from their fans. Signing Worldpeace, who currently plays in Italy, isn’t a roll of the dice, it’s merely a pull on a penny slot. He will not command a high dollar contract, there is little to no competition for his services and if he doesn’t work out, simply waive him. On the flip side, should RMP work out and have a return to form, this is a former All Star and DPOY we’re talking about here, then you have a contributing player with little spent. This appears to be a no brainer, RMP has to have something left in the tank and their isn’t anyone on the current roster whose minutes he’d be claiming.
Do it Mitch, say yes to Worldpeace!
