Ron Artest signed a five-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2009 and won his first NBA championship that following season. Artest didn’t formally become Metta World Peace until he changed his name in 2011.
World Peace’s last NBA stint was with the New York Knicks in the 2013-14 season. After being waived he signed with the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association. This past season World Peace was playing with Pallacanestro Cantú of Italy, but he reportedly will not be returning to the team next season.
As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, World Peace may have a place in his former NBA home:
Lakers are seriously considering signing free agent Metta World Peace, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. For now, there’s no deal in place.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 24, 2015
There are varying degrees of interest within the Lakers organization about bringing him back to the franchise at 35 years old, but World Peace has been in the Lakers’ practice facility this offseason playing against the team’s players, including 2014 first-round pick Julius Randle, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
No deal has been agreed upon, and a one-year contract would likely be the ceiling for World Peace’s services.
