Reports emerged on Monday night that the Los Angeles Lakers have made the decision to amnesty Metta World Peace. With the move, the Lakers are expected to save approximately $30 million in salary and luxury tax.
The move certainly doesn’t come as all that much of a surprise, simply considering the financial gain that Los Angeles will be scooping up with their decision. Just a few weeks ago, World Peace made the choice to opt into the final year of his contract, but that doesn’t prevent the Lakers from trumping that move with this decision.
The move comes just days after the team missed out on landing free agent center Dwight Howard, who opted to bolt town for green pastures with the Houston Rockets. On Monday afternoon, the Lakers announced reached an agreement with Chris Kaman, who will help fill that void. Overall, Los Angeles will in a bit of a flux position and the decision to waive World Peace only adds to that. While Kobe Bryant, who is recovering from a torn Achilles will return next season, the Lakers must find a way to make things work with an aging Steve Nash and an uncertain Pau Gasol, who become the center of numerous trade rumors over the past year or so.
The character that is World Peace has become an ongoing story, so it’ll be interesting to see what his next chapter will entail. With that being said, you could probably apply the same to the Lakers as a whole.
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