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Lakers Rumors: Metta World Peace to be Amnestied if Not Traded?

By | July 10, 2012|

Once the new CBA was agreed upon to end the lockout last year, one topic that got a lot of discussion was the new amnesty clause. With this clause teams are able to amnesty players in order to rid themselves of highly overpaid contracts.

On July 11, teams in the league can begin to officially sign free agents and amnesty players. A lot of players have already agreed to new deals that will be signed on this day. The Los Angeles Lakers will be able to make the trade for Steve Nash official and consider using the amnesty clause.

There are plenty of players currently on the Lakers roster that will be amnesty candidates over the next few years. Players  like Pau Gasol and even Kobe Bryant. Obviously, Kobe getting amnestied is a stretch, but still entirely possible.

The real candidate to be amnestied by the Lakers between the dates of July 11 to 17 is Metta World Peace. With World Peace scheduled to make $7.2 million next season and $7.7 million the season after that, the Lakers may seriously consider using the amnesty clause on World Peace if they can’t trade him over the next week or so.

ESPN Insider Larry Coon believes that World Peace is the player on the Lakers roster that is most likely to be amnestied as of July 11:

“Mitch Kupchak has been trying to move World Peace, and if he fails it’s possible he will use the amnesty clause in order to take a bite out of the team’s tax bill.”

Rumors of World Peace being on the trading block began heading into the 2012 NBA Draft. The veteran forward was linked to a deal where the Lakers were looking to acquire a late first round pick. The deal never went down, but World Peace may still be on the block.

Another proposed deal had World Peace headed to the Orlando Magic along with Andrew Bynum in exchange for Dwight Howard. Obviously, that deal never came to fruition either, and World Peace’s fate in Los Angeles still hangs in the balance.

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About the author

Ryan Ward

Ryan is a senior writer for Lakers Nation and Examiner.com with an undying passion writing about the Los Angeles Lakers. Follow Ryan on Twitter: @Lakers_Examiner

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  • Luis Arthur Asuncion

    he will stay 

  • Sdorme24

    I stopped reading when he mentioned Kobe as a candidate…silly article

    • Chandleryen

      Kobe will probably be the last person they amnesty. But I bet you that Kupchack has thought about it at least once due to Kobe taking up almost 50% of the salary.

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/XDEPZBL6FXFJ4USCT3PCIACPUQ J Taylor

        Obviously it’s a consideration. BUT, the negatives push this thought into fantasy.
        1) First, the Lakers are still on the hook for Kobe’s salary. If amnestied, Kobe gets put on the Amnesty wire where the “claim” ranking sits based on the current team rankings. THEN, based on the offer of the claiming team, the Lakers still have to pay the remaining monies.

        2) It would be very heartless to amnesty the face of the franchise, ignore that he’d get picked up by one of the worst teams in the league, AND THEN be forced to retire as to not have to play for some bottom tier team.

        If the team did Amnesty Kobe, it would probably go down as one of the most
        gutless moves by a franchise and could create a MASSIVE P.R. nightmare and drastically affect advertising revenues.

        • Chandleryen

          I agree with everything you said. That’s why I said that he would be the last person to be amnestied

  • Justint3z

    Usually this guy writes decent articles but this one is just stupid.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/H3OBHVXD33WQCUMHUJCV6UTIPY Dillo

    let’s trade MWP for a back up point guard

  • Sean.

    Jay Taylor, 

    A trade chip is just that. A TRADE CHIP. MWP has been dangled and NO ONE WANTS HIM. How does that make him a trade chip? Seriously dude, you must have dyslexia. 

  • Superman

    keep metta , his a real D specialist .

  • tattoo tattoo

    Stupid absolutely . why trade mwp he turns up the defense in the playoffs . Lakers need to release Mitch k.

  • Luke Carlton

    In his glory days, Ron Ron was the best defender in the league as well as a consistent scorer. At this point in his career, he is an offensive liability and not good enough at his supposed specialty.  Ron is constantly beat on defense while attempting to guard faster or just flat out better players. The only reason we would want him on our team is if he could step out on the court every night and shut down the best player on the other team. And as we have recently witnessed in the last playoff series( e.g. “guarding” Kevin Durant), Ron can no longer do that. Besides providing a spark of energy, the only thing Ron accomplishes is the absorption of minutes of all the other small forwards on our team. We all know that the Lakers offense can be stagnant (to say the least) when Kobe is not excelling. When this happens we want players on the floor that can create their own shot or create for others. Ron can throw up a turn around jumper that barely scrapes the rim, but we deserve a better player than the aging, washed up Ron Ron. He had a solid run with the Lakers, but we need to say goodbye and hope to add a dynamic and/or young wing player to the mix. 

    • Chandleryen

      I don’t think anyone can “shut down” a Kevin Durant or LeBron James or Carmelo Anothony. He keeps them honest by making them work on the offensive end of the floor. Kevin Durant will get his 28. But he’s gonna have to take a few more shots than he usually takes to get that 28 or 30. Can you think of anyone else besides Ron Artest at the small forward position that would do that in the NBA besides LeBron James himself, Luol Deng? (I’m not putting in Tony Allen and Thabo Sefolosha because they are 6’4 and 6’5, respectively, and also they are shooting guards.)

  • ibleedpurpleandgold

    he’s the only one in the LAKERS roster that can consistently guard LBJ and Durant, take him out of the picture and LA would be doomed again against OKC.. LAL with nash is already ok, expect MWP and the rest to be better with Nash on the team.. we only need a solid bench and get rid of bynum… better have marc GASOL or another solid center + a solid bench player.. >:D

  • Dianehernandez44

    He a hard player and gives it his all every time he out in the court

  • Greenroach_06

    Please just sign grant hill and cut artest, I’m so sick of his shit. Lakers need to mve forward. Please just get rid of his ass.

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