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Metta World Peace: 'I want to do a couple more years'
On Tuesday, Metta World Peace came off the Los Angeles Laker bench to have exactly the sort of game you’d assume Metta World Peace would have at 36-years old.
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Working in a win over Orlando, MWP hit a three-pointer, pulled in two rebound and added two assists while blocking a shot and fouling five times in just 16 minutes. His run was a +4 run as the Lakers won by nine.
Following the game, one that saw the soon to be retiring Kobe Bryant sit out with “everything soreness,” Metta sloughed off any insinuation that this season, just as Kobe’s, would be his last.
From Mike Bresnahan at the Los Angeles Times:
"I still want to get in the playoffs again. I want to do a couple more years," the Lakers forward said Tuesday. "This year I didn't play much so I kind of saved myself. I'm going to come back next year strong."
World Peace, 36, is averaging 4.3 points in only 22 games. His one-year contract expires after this season.
The Orlando game marked the third contest in a row that World Peace has taken part in, and it served as just the fourth time since Jan. 10 that he’s seen court action. He may have “saved” himself from wear and tear, but the veteran is shooting 29 percent on the season, and hardly making a dent in Los Angeles’ defense – the Lakers are last in the league on that end.
To be frank, MWP’s mere presence in the NBA at this point is a bit of a surprise.
Not because of his past on-and-then-off the court incidences, but because age has clearly caught up to the former Defensive Player of the Year. Metta, who won a title with Los Angeles in 2010, sat out the 2014-15 NBA season after a rough go in his single season with the Knicks in 2013-14. His sojourn in China didn’t work out all that well either, and Los Angeles’ re-signing of World Peace was viewed as a novelty by some last year.
MWP counters that he can still contribute, despite missing over two-thirds of his shots. From the Times piece, following Bresnahan’s aside that points out that Metta has scored in double-figures in two of his three starts:
He particularly liked his game at Cleveland last month.
"I had no points but was plus-10. That was encouraging. I played well against LeBron James," he said.
Part of that is true. World Peace missed seven of eight shots (he did score two points) and he was a +10, but James didn’t exactly fall apart in his presence.
It’s still nice to see him on the court, though. And if Metta stays in shape he could be a boon as a bruiser off the bench for a team next season, if only to rarely play (as has been the case this year) and provide leadership during practices and shootarounds. The five tools aren’t as sharp as they used to be, but when it comes to the combination of footwork, overall defense, passing, spot shooting and posting up, the former Ron Artest’s versatile talents truly stood out amongst his contemporaries in terms of age.
Many of those guys are fading fast. Still, that hasn’t stopped MWP from meshing with the Lakers’ impressive cadre of young men like D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson.
Take for example this quote that we can’t possibly recreate in full, as documented by Shahan Ahmed following Tuesday night’s win:
Metta explaining to me how/why kids got to this point: “They get tired of f****** losing, I bet that.”
Clarkson in the background: “Word”
That’s exactly the sort of quote you’d expect Metta World Peace, at age 36, to give. The league is better off for it.
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is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
