Metta World Peace is currently in his 17th NBA season — his sixth with the Lakers — and is still known as being one of the league’s most interesting and flat-out unpredictable players.
From getting into opponents heads, sometimes literally, to winning an NBA championship, and even being a part of the most chaotic scene in league history, World Peace has developed a respectable understanding and IQ for the game. He’s logged a total of 31,289 minutes in his career, and at 36 years old, is now contemplating future post-retirement plans.
“I still want to play basketball, but one day I do want to coach,” World Peace told TMZ last week. “I would want to coach in the NBA. I think it’s just so much fun, and there’s so many great coaches and you see all the opportunities: (Tom) Thibodeau, the Boston coach (Brad Stevens), the coach from OKC (Billy Donovan). I mean, it’s fun. I think these coaches are having a good time, you know, doing something they love to do. And I want to be in that same position one day.”
World Peace has long been eyeing an opportunity at becoming an NBA coach, with the thought circulating in his mind when he first returned to the league last year. World Peace, according to a well-placed source, signed with the Lakers holding hopes that it could one day lead him to becoming a coach for the franchise he won a title with.
The Lakers’ front office had interest in hiring World Peace as an assistant coach last month, according to ESPN, but the team ultimately decided to keep him on the active roster. They value his veteran presence, his hardened mentality and leadership skills, and want him remaining on the scene standing close with young players such as Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle.
In terms of being a basketball coach, World Peace was part of a South Carolina high school girls coaching staff two years ago. Now entering the twilight years of his historic career, World Peace hopes to combine his experiences and passion for basketball to move on and coach at an elite level, preferably for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, would certainly make for an interesting coach. For the time being, however, he is focused on helping maximize this Lakers team and the potential of Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram and Jordan Clarkson.
“I want to learn from people. You know, so I don’t want to be the type of person where I know it all,” World Peace told TMZ. “I think young people know more than what we expect. You got to give them that chance to grow, and you just want to guide them and have a good time. The main thing is having a good time, that’s all you want to do. Have a good time, and everything else will take care of itself. Have a good time, try to win, and then just keep it really simple, and it’ll be a really easy job.”
