Guess Who’s Back? Metta World Peace Rejoins Los Angeles Lakers

The trainers had let him back into the gym in March to start his long, lonely return to the Los Angeles Lakers’ lineup, and Randle desperately resisted the slow, steady churn of the regimen. Giving Randle a mentor could have a long-term impact for the Lakers, but it will be up to World Peace to prove he can still play through actual National Basketball Association minutes.

This isn’t a game-changer for the Lakers, and he may simply not be able to play after being out of the league for over a year, but it’s hard to see where it hurts, either.

In addition to Bryant, World Peace has also made an impression on Randle.

While the franchise has been talking to World Peace since August, an executive with the team said now it’s just a matter of getting a contract signed.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Metta World Peace to a one-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. “How do I have patience?”

Bryant knows a thing or two about rehabbing from injury, although he’s never had a broken leg. His most recent injury was a torn rotator cuff he suffered in February.

He has been working out at the Lakers’ practice facility throughout the offseason against several players on the team, including 2014 first-round pick Julius Randle. Randle is a bit overweight and often caught struggling making his way into the Lakers offense.

With the Lakers expected to be led by Kobe Bryant this season once more, a lot of focus lies on the performance of its young players.

“I hope we can give him a reason to keep playing”, Randle says.

World Peace chuckled when asked if it was intelligent for Randle to play aggressively against him.

He mostly relied on the cooked meals Lakers chef Sandra Padilla provides for the team, but also shopped for groceries with DiFrancesco. “If he can continue to learn the little things, you’ll see the Lakers in the playoffs”. He added that Kobe’s role with the club won’t be any different than in year’s past, which would imply that he may not be keen on deferring to his younger teammates, despite the Lakers going through a rebuild.