The LA Lakers have reportedly signed Metta World Peace to a one-year contract and the former Los Angeles star could make the team as a veteran bench option out of training camp. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant healthy and ready for camp and he may not retire after this season, while Marcelo Huertas has a chance to make the roster behind D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson.
The Lakers have reportedly been interested in signing Peace since last month and now Adrian Wojnarowski reports that a deal is close to being completed. According to Yahoo Sports, the Lakers are signing Peace to a one-year deal that is non-guaranteed. Training camp and basketball workouts start for the Lakers next week and the team previously had Peace at the team facility working out, including with young forward Julius Randle.
Peace spoke about his work with Randle with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News and he said that he thinks he can be a good mentor for the young player. Randle is coming back from a serious injury and with young players like D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson also on the roster, adding some veteran experience could really help the Lakers. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak spoke about the makeup of the roster and he said the team doesn't want to "put ourselves in a bind by getting 15 roster spots taken" ahead of camp.
Peace reportedly is signing a non-guaranteed deal and that gives the Lakers some options in camp, as they have a number of young players on camp invites as well. Michael Frazier, Jonathan Holmes and Robert Upshaw signed this summer and the team also has some other players on non-guaranteed deals. Peace has a good chance of making the team based on all the reports leading up to the deal and he comes in after playing in China and Italy in his last pro stints. Peace was last with the Lakers in 2013 and was let go through the amnesty clause.
The Lakers open up camp next week and when the team does, they will have Kobe Bryant healthy and ready to participate. According to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, Bryant has been "fully cleared" for training camp and he has no restrictions on basketball activities right now for the Lakers. Bryant has been working out and has been able to take shots for the first time since having shoulder surgery and now Bryant and the Lakers are hoping that he can make it through the season without suffering another major injury.
Bryant is expected to consider retirement after this season, but Knicks president Phil Jackson was asked about that in his press conference on Friday and he sounded skeptical. According to CBS Sports, Jackson said that he expects Bryant to continue playing past this year. The Lakers will have some interesting options in camp this fall, as the team signed Marcelo Huertas to a partial deal from the Euroleague and he potentially could make the team. Wojnarowski reports that Huertas has been "increasingly impressive" in workouts and that he "has a real chance to make roster" behind Clarkson and Russell.
Check here for more on the Lakers, Bryant, Peace and the training camp roster.