Metta’s contract is up next season, but he may be on the bargaining table this summer. The two ways in which Metta won’t be appearing in Purple and Gold next year would be due to the Amnesty provision or if he chooses to opt out. If Metta World Peace were to opt out, the Lakers save about $7.7 million. Although not a lot, it absolutely helps to ease L.A.’s financial issues. Earlier this season, Metta stated that he would consider opting out of his deal only if it meant he could sign a longer deal with the Lakers. However, since this option is not likely, it looks like the Lakers vet won’t be leaving unless the organization chooses to give him the axe.
Metta isn’t young, and his performance declined much of last season. I say, expect him to be viable Amnesty option. His comrade, Steve Nash, may also be in a similar situation. At 39, and with a multitude of injuries last season, Los Angeles may have put too many expectations on the PG. Nash cannot be amnestied since he wasn’t on the Lakers roster when the current CBA was signed and became official. But, Nash could absolutely be traded. Although this player transition may be a harder sell than the situation with Metta, anything can happen. Hopefully Steve Nash gets healthy this summer and comes to training camp ready to get some work done.
Getting fan perspective is important to Lakers Nation, which is why we polled our Twitter followers today on something many may not be thinking about yet, next year’s Pacific Division title. We asked the question “who do you think will be the early favorite to win the Pacific Division next year?” In the end, 86% of you said the Lakers would be the favorite, with the Warriors coming in second with 12%. Although the Lakers, Clippers and Warriors seem to always oust the Kings and Suns, anything is possible. Especially with CP3 and Dwight possibly leaving this summer.
Need a little Lakers greatness to kick start your day? Lakers Nation gives you today’s Historic Box Score. Suki thing kicks off our upcoming segment with one of the greatest Bryant performances ever. That’s right; I am talking about Kobe’s historic 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006. The Lakers won the game 122-104, after suffering a down first half.
Check back within the coming days to see what other great Lakers’ players make our list of Historic Box Scores.
Lakers Nation News
Lakers News: Lakers Nation Forecasts Next Season’s Pacific Division
Should The Lakers Consider Trading Steve Nash For Cap Relief?
NBA News: NBA Announces First And Second All-NBA Defensive Teams
Bucks Interview Lakers Assistant Steve Clifford for Head Coaching Job
Lakers Rumors: Metta World Peace Won’t Opt Out of Lakers Contract
NBA Rumors: Phil Jackson Not Interested In Toronto Raptors Job
Historic Box Score: Kobe Bryant’s 81-Point Game Against Toronto
Lakers News
Lakers Free Agency Discussion: Wesley Johnson [Silver Screen and Roll]
What Went Wrong With the 2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers … Front Office? [Silver Screen and Roll]
Hawks Luring Dwight Howard with Stan Van Gundy, According to Report [Silver Screen and Roll]
Metta World Peace Says Dwight Howard’s Joking Bothered Him at First [Bleacher Report]
Lakers Assistant Steve Clifford Interviewing for Bucks’ Head-Coaching Job [Yahoo Sports]
Parents of Kobe Bryant Say He Lied About Ownership of Memorabilia [Lakerholicz]
More on Kobe and His Memorabilia [LA Times]
Should 2014-15 Be the Focus? [ESPN]
Metta World Peace Won’t Opt Out [Hoops Rumors]
Former Laker Mark Madsen Will Reportedly Become Head Coach of LA D-Fenders [Bleacher Report]
Lakers Assistant Steve Clifford Interviewing for Bucks’ Head-Coaching Job [Yahoo Sports]
Kobe Bryant’s Private Family Matters Again Reach a Public Stage [latimes.com]
Should The Lakers Rebuild? [ESPN]
Things Free Agent Dwight Howard Will Probably Say This Summer [Bleacher Report]
Phil Jackson Will Not Take Raptors Job, Colangelo May Resign [Eye on Basketball]
Coach Mike D’Antoni Worthy of Blame or Credit? [latimes.com]
Remaining Playoff Teams Offer the Lakers A Reminder of What Works [Forum Blue and Gold]
Best-Case, Worst-Case Scenarios for LA Lakers 2013 Offseason [Bleacher Report]
NBA News
The Memphis Grizzlies Beat Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3. Now the West Favorites? [ESPN]
The Philadelphia 76ers are Finally Embracing Statistical Analysis, to the Chagrin of a Local Writer [Ball Don’t Lie]
DePaul to Receive $300 Million Arena in Chicago [CBS Sports]
San Antonio Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors [ESPN]
Mouthguard In, Sympathy Out As Heat Expect More Of Same From Bulls [Hang Time Blog]
Warriors’ David Lee Admits He Likely Need Surgery After Season [ProBasketballTalk]
J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin Sit Out Practice [ESPN New York]
Maloofs May Refuse to Sell to Sacramento Group [Eye on Basketball]
Updated Postseason Report Card Grades for Superstars Still in the NBA Playoffs [Bleacher Report]
LeBron James, Tony Allen and Serge Ibaka Lead All-Defense Teams [Eye on Basketball]
Struggling Ibaka Focused On Game 4 [Hang Time Blog]
LeBron James Shrugs Off Claims He’s a Flopper [ProBasketballTalk]
Opening Tip: Can Melo Shoulder the Load? [Knicks Blog]
The 10-Man Rotation, Starring the Heat’s O Evolving to Counter the Bulls’ D [Yahoo Sports]
Derrick Rose Won’t Return Against Heat, but Did ‘strongly consider’ Coming Back Before the Series [ProBasketballTalk]
Serge Ibaka Admits All His Missed Shots are in His Head ‘a little bit,’ Vows to be More Asggressive [Ball Don’t Lie]
Kevin Durant Says He Can Do More to Help the Oklahome City Thunder [ESPN]
The 15 Greatest Individual Performances in NBA Playoff History [Bleacher Report]
Luol Deng Officially Day-to-Day, but Seems Doubtful for Remainder of the Series vs. Heat [ProBasketballTalk]
Stoudemire Returns, in Limited Role [ESPN New York]
