The Los Angeles Lakers had some tough decisions to make concerning finalizing their roster. They had two spots open with four guys battling to make the team. It was down to Metta World Peace, Yi Jianlian, Thomas Robinson and Anthony Brown. Coming into the deadline to make roster cuts, it was assumed Robinson and Brown were locks but things got turned upside down a little bit.
The Lakers decision to keep offseason acquisition Thomas Robinson was made easier thanks to an early morning decision by Yi Jianlian to request his release from the team. For Robinson, much like last year with the Brooklyn Nets, he’s looking to once again stick around with a team and establish himself in the NBA. He will most likely be the first big man off the bench to give Timofey Mozgov and Julius Randle a break.
The international hoops star Jianlian did not get quite what he bargained for when electing to join the Lakers. He requested his release as a result.
Following from Marc Stein and Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
With the Lakers facing roster cut-down decisions by 5 p.m. ET Monday, Yi and his representatives requested that the team let him go to pursue other opportunities, largely because the role he envisioned in Los Angeles didn’t materialize.
“Yi was productive in practices and games with us, and was a consummate professional both on and off the court,” general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. “However, he felt that the minutes and opportunities he’d be afforded here were not in line with his goals and ambitions and that he’d be better off in a different situation. We appreciate his efforts and wish him great success as he goes forward with his career.”
After his strong play with China in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Yi was signed by the Lakers in August to a one-year, $8 million deal that was uniquely structured, featuring $6.8 million in what the league deemed “likely” bonuses.
But the defined role Yi expected when he agreed to leave the Guangdong Southern Tigers in his native China — with minutes at both power forward and center — didn’t pan out as he had hoped this month, prompting the 28-year-old to seek his release.
Recently, it was reported that the Lakers were interested in bringing on newly signed Metta World Peace as a head coach if he didn’t make the squad. Many assumed that would be the end of the road for him, clearing the way for 2015 second round pick Anthony Brown to be a lock going into his second season in the NBA. Unfortunately, Brown found himself as a casualty of the waiver deadline.
The Lakers made the waiving of Jianlian official earlier today and also announced they would be waiving the wingman Anthony Brown.
It’s a half puzzling decision day for the Lakers. Keeping World Peace in favor of Brown is particularly the most confusing part. If Metta didn’t want to be a coach with the Lakers that’s understandable but the only reason to keep him on the roster is to help with the younger guys. But they ended up cutting one of their younger pieces. It’s just an odd move, especially with guys like Thomas Robinson, Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng on the roster, fully capable of giving advice to any of the young guys.
Hopefully Brown can get a shot with another team looking for a capable wing defender who has a chance to develop into a solid bench rotation player.
