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Lakerfan 4 Life
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 Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:54 pm Post subject: Metta World Peace: “Kobe Is The Main Reason Why I’ve Worked So Hard” |
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| Quote: | HONOLULU — The sequence hardly looked peaceful.
In an image that he once displayed in countless Lakers playoff and regular season games, Metta World Peace wasted no time in his preseason debut against Utah on Tuesday addressing questions about his durability and effectiveness. The former Ron Artest swiped the ball out of his opponent’s hands. He pursued the ball by diving over the Lakers’ bench. And World Peace instantly caught the attention of one certain teammate whose presence has significantly influenced his mindset on successfully returning to the NBA.
“Very impressed,” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. “It felt like old times of he and I getting after it.”
One of those times included World Peace playing a major part in the Lakers’ Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals during his four-year tenure wearing purple and gold (2009-2013). But after the Lakers waived him in 2013 through the amnesty clause to save up to $30 million in combined salary and luxury taxes, more doubts emerged about World Peace.
Despite posting numbers in the 2012-13 campaign that marked his highest scoring output with the Lakers (12.8 points on 40.5 percent shooting), World Peace looked limited after tearing his meniscus in his left knee late in the season. He faced limited playing time the following season in New York before both sides negotiated a buyout. World Peace then spent the last year dabbling in overseas gigs in China and Italy.
The Lakers gave World Peace a chance by signing him to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal worth $1.5 million to their 2015 training camp roster, a situation he said would not have happened if not for Bryant’s influence.
“Kobe is the main reason why I worked so hard in the last couple of years,” World Peace said after posting seven points on 2-of-5 shooting, four rebounds, four turnovers and two assists in 21 minutes in the Lakers’ 117-114 overtime loss to Utah on Tuesday at Stan Sheriff Center. “I always wanted to come back and play with Kobe. I remember playing with Kobe, the sacrifices he made, playing hard, making unbelievable shots and showing unbelievable fundamentals. People can say he’s selfish all they want. But in the game, he’s so fundamentally sound. That’s tough to be fundamentally sound under all that pressure.”
World Peace has faced his own pressure trying to ensure a spot on the Lakers’ roster.
He missed two practices, three scrimmages and the Lakers’ preseason opener in the last week after straining his left calf. Although the Lakers signed him partly to serve as a mentor, World Peace faces plenty of competition for playing time both at power forward (Julius Randle, Brandon Bass and Ryan Kelly) and small forward (Bryant, Nick Young, Anthony Brown).
“He just needs to show us that he’s still Metta and can defend at a very high level at multiple positions, still get up and down the floor and play within the offense,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said beforehand. “We already know he can be a great teammate. He’s been great at our training camp with our young guys. But we want to know if he can still play at a high level.”
World Peace downplayed concerns about his play. But he even admitted uncertainty beforehand about his durability.
“Only time will tell,” World Peace said. “I’m pretty smart, but I don’t know what’s going on with my body. You couldn’t put a phone to Derrick Rose’s leg and say, ‘Today he might be hurt.’ When you play basketball, who’s not hurt?”
World Peace hardly looked hurt against Utah.
His night started out with chasing a loose ball. World Peace showed some promise with his outside touch. Rarely did World Peace allow his opponent an inch of space to operate.
“He straps up,” Lakers center Roy Hibbert said. “He plays ‘D’ and nothing’s getting by him. He looked good out there.”
So good that World Peace’s presence helped the Lakers trim a 19-point second-quarter deficit to one by halftime.
“It started with Metta,” Scott said. “As soon as he came in the game in the second quarter, he just turned it up. And it fed off of him.”
World Peace made a similar argument about his energy, saying “it’s contagious.” But even if he smiled when informed about Scott’s compliment, World Peace argued his own imprint on the Lakers’ latest preseason game stemmed from Scott’s conditioning-heavy practices.
“I’m working hard everyday because Byron is tough. That first practice let me know. It took me out two days,” said World Peace, who added Scott’s practices are the toughest he encountered in his 15-year NBA career. “He doesn’t have to tell you to go hard. You can see it on his face. The first practice was unbelievably hard. I was like, ‘Okay when I go out on the court in a real game, I have to go all balls out.'”
That’s exactly what World Peace did.
He bruised his way into the post.
“I can give these guys work,” World Peace said. “On that block, there’s not too many people that will stop me down there.”
He frequently pointed out what he called “little backdoors and little reads” to his younger teammates, notably Randle.
“I’ll give them more and more and more until they tell me to shut up because they can help us get to the playoffs,” World Peace said. “Julius is a leader and can lead the team to the playoffs.”
And yes, World Peace also showed some head-scratching moments that Lakers fans remember all too well with his occasional erratic shooting or wreckless fast-breaks. World Peave attempted to perform a behind-the-back dribble, only for the ball to hit off of his right shoe.
“That was a bad one,” World Peace said, laughing. “Man, that was bad. We’ll work on that one.”
Yet through it all, World Peace refused to make a big deal about his debut. It is a preseason game, after all. He was not in the locker room during the Lakers’ post-game interviews. World Peace lingered in the arena afterwards for a post-game workout. It took so long that the team left without him, requiring him to take an Uber back to the team hotel. World Peace only agreed to an interview with two reporters because they had waited him out.
“It’s still early. I’m not in shape at all,” World Peace said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to act like I did anything impressive. I’m just out there to wait until my number is called. IF you see me in the summer time, you’ll see something pretty different. You’ll see something pretty different. You would see somebody who just kills everybody. You can’t stop me. But right now, I’m being a little easy. I’m not in shape. I’m patient. I’m waiting. I’ll wait my turn.”
World Peace’s constant want to downplay everything stems from a few of things.
He has mostly avoided providing bulletin board material as he has done in seasons past so he doesn’t cast more attention on himself. The Lakers have 19 players on their training camp roster and can hold only up to 15 players before the 2015-16 season begins. World Peace stressed he remains fine with a diminished role, arguing he’s still “so valuable” as a mentor.
“I’m putting aside my ego. I can help the guys win,” World Peace said. “Even when I’m not on the floor, I can still help the guys win. I don’t need to play to be effective. I’ve been effective without the ball my whole career. If I’m on the court I don’t need to have the ball. If I’m not on the court, I can be just as effective. It’s all a part of being a supportive teammate.”
World Peace also experienced humbling experiences with the Sichuan Blue Whales in China and Pallacanestro Cantu in Italy.
Yet, World Peace maintained he preferred taking that path to prove to himself that his diminished statistics stemmed more from sacrificing on NBA teams than any erosion of skills. So much that World Peace said he turned down a chance to sign with the Clippers during the 2014-15 season.
“In China, I had to get my game back,” World Peace said. “Doc [Rivers] asked me to come to the Clippers. I told him, ‘I’m going to China first. When I come back, I’ll come to the Clippers.’ I want to get my game back on.”
But World Peace said his sentiments soon changed. He began reflecting on the Lakers’ failed title runs. Dallas denied the Lakers’ chance to three-peat in 2011 with a four-game sweep in the Western Conference semifinals. The Lakers fell to Oklahoma City in the same round in five games the following year. Despite making a splash with the Steve Nash and Dwight Howard signings, the Lakers were swept in the first round to San Antonio in 2013 amid competing coach and player agendas as well as overlapping injuries.
So when Bryant and World Peace talked when he was overseas about the Lakers and his own play, World Peace thought about a reunion. He said he never told Bryant of his plans, or asked for his support. Instead, World Peace and his agent had conversations with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak about his affection for the franchise.
“For two years, I have said I want to be ready for Kobe. Kobe wants to win. That’s it. It’s simple. If you can’t help him win, you can’t help him. That’s all he wants,” World Peace said. “It’s easy. I wanted to come to the Lakers to get the 17th [NBA title] and surpass the Celtics. That’s something I want to see.”
That goal might sound like nothing more than a pipe dream. But then again, so was the idea that the 35-year-old World Peace would enter a preseason game and quickly address any doubts about his health and effectiveness. He immediately chased both a looseball and his quest to stay in the NBA as Bryant closely watched every step. |
http://www.insidesocal.com/lakers/2015/10/08/metta-world-peace-kobe-is-the-main-reason-why-ive-worked-so-hard/
Metta with that Laker pride.  |
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Lakers95
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Joined: 19 Dec 2011
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome. Fun little read
Hopefully we keep him around. The cost of giving him a spot is going to be, what, Jabari Brown? Michael Frazier? I think it's worth it. |
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ainsley
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Dude is saying all the right things. I really hope we offer him a position on the coaching staff next year. |
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Tony Anapolis
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| I find it funny that the old man Peace applauds Scott for the tough workouts. All while Laker fans cry day in and day out about how old school Scott is too hard on the players. |
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novadolla
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Tony Anapolis wrote: | | I find it funny that the old man Peace applauds Scott for the tough workouts. All while Laker fans cry day in and day out about how old school Scott is too hard on the players. |
The ones crying are the ones who has probably never played organized basketball or football, they wouldn't know how great your conditioning must be to be able to play at a high level. They think its all about Xs and Os. |
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activeverb
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Lakers95 wrote: | Awesome. Fun little read
Hopefully we keep him around. The cost of giving him a spot is going to be, what, Jabari Brown? Michael Frazier? I think it's worth it. |
From an on-the-court standpoint, I don't think Metta brings anything. If he's getting time, it's a bad thing. I don't think it's a terrible thing if he's on the squad as a 13th or 14th man. |
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BigBoi
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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I like world peace, but I don't know if I really want him on the team. I kind of do but it might cost us a really good young player, maybe not. I hope Byron Scott makes the right decision.
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madsen35
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 10:42 pm Post subject: |
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| BigBoi wrote: | | I like world peace, but I don't know if I really want him on the team. I kind of do but it might cost us a really good young player, maybe not. I hope Byron Scott makes the right decision. |
I think this is the sentiment of the majority of Lakers fans. I don't think he can give us much in terms of offense, but I honestly think he's still better than some of the younger players on the defensive side of the ball.
At first, I wanted to bring him back as a coach. But I like what I'm hearing and seeing. I wouldn't mind keeping him on the roster at this point.
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Good Laker book I recommend, "The Biggest What-If's in Lakers History" http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-What-Ifs-Angeles-History-ebook/dp/B00BB3OEC0 |
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Ziggy
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| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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| activeverb wrote: | | Lakers95 wrote: | Awesome. Fun little read
Hopefully we keep him around. The cost of giving him a spot is going to be, what, Jabari Brown? Michael Frazier? I think it's worth it. |
From an on-the-court standpoint, I don't think Metta brings anything. If he's getting time, it's a bad thing. I don't think it's a terrible thing if he's on the squad as a 13th or 14th man. |
He would be the 2nd best SF on the team today behind Kobe. All I know is I noticed a higher level of activity from the entire team when he was on the floor. That is definitely something. |
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Lakers95
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:04 am Post subject: |
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| activeverb wrote: | | Lakers95 wrote: | Awesome. Fun little read
Hopefully we keep him around. The cost of giving him a spot is going to be, what, Jabari Brown? Michael Frazier? I think it's worth it. |
From an on-the-court standpoint, I don't think Metta brings anything. If he's getting time, it's a bad thing. I don't think it's a terrible thing if he's on the squad as a 13th or 14th man. |
I agree, at least from the on-court perspective. I'm not expecting him to contribute much in that area. He's 35 years old and is probably going to only be able to log in ~15 minutes a game, if that. He hasn't played NBA-level basketball since his short stint with the Knicks two years ago either.
I've bought into the intangible of "veteran leadership" that MWP can bring to this team though. Outside of Kobe, Hibbert, Williams, Bass, and Young, this team is really young. Having another veteran around to guide the youth can't hurt. He and Randle seem to already have chemistry together as well.
Probably would have been better to give him a position on the coaching/training staff, like others have said, but having him on the roster might give him more time/opportunity to be involved |
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Theseus
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:01 am Post subject: |
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| Having him on the team is going to help these young Lakers develop. Imparting some metta to Randle would be great. Would be great if he could start building some relationships with these guys so he can mentor them after his contract is up |
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kobeandgary
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 5:09 am Post subject: |
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| novadolla wrote: | | Tony Anapolis wrote: | | I find it funny that the old man Peace applauds Scott for the tough workouts. All while Laker fans cry day in and day out about how old school Scott is too hard on the players. |
The ones crying are the ones who has probably never played organized basketball or football, they wouldn't know how great your conditioning must be to be able to play at a high level. They think its all about Xs and Os. |
Most of us who played organized ball weren't doing it in our thirties with thousands of miles of wear and tear on the body. Hard practices are great as long as you have age appropriate players that are becoming more conditioned as apposed to worn out. So for the most part i think we have some young players that could definitely benefit from those type of practices, and some players who are suited for more of a low key practice. |
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Four Decade Bandwagon
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 6:36 am Post subject: |
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I am torn about keeping MWP on the final 15 roster. Not my favorite idea at first but he is winning me over.
Having his energy and veteran leadership on the team could really help this team develop. His defensive energy has been noticeable. I could see him getting 10-15mpg this season. Possibly his intensity inspires the same from the young guys. To the point of reducing MWP's mpg by seasons end. Then add him as a coach next year.
The roster spot he is taking is tough though. Basically he is in competition with Holmes and Kelly. Both have shown some promise this pre-season but not sure how I would go in all honesty.
The Scott intense conditioning comments were interesting. MWP considers them the hardest he has ever done yet also admits he was out of shape and needed the work. Old school mentality but seems to work for him. |
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KindCrippler2000
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:25 am Post subject: |
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| I still remember Ron Artest and Kobe fiercely competing against each other during our championship runs. It's refreshing to see him and Kobe as good friends these days. They are as old school as you can get in today's league, and I'm sure they both have a great deal to pass on to our young guns. |
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danzag
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 9:44 am Post subject: |
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I've always liked MWP. His presence in the locker room is positive to our youngsters.
He's a champion, a hard worker and a team-first guy. You can't have a better role model. |
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Laker's Fan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:00 am Post subject: |
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| Metta is the biggest self promoter since the Worm. He knows the words Lakers and Kobe get you hits. Nothing wrong with that. But you have remember the pretext. |
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2019
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:08 am Post subject: |
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Honestly at this point we NEED Metta. Who else on this roster is going to be the vocal leader? Who else is the guy to bring that insane level of physicality and intensity? He's sure getting a lot of mins right now but I think once the regular season starts, getting 8-10 a game would be MAX. Bring him in and he's getting everyone hyped up. In a way, the slowest guy out there is also the energy guy.
Like I said, we need someone to bring defensive intensity and I think his presence alone amps everybody up. |
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venturalakersfan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:51 am Post subject: |
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Artest has been done as a player for several years but if he can help with the youngsters, then no reason to send him packing. That 14th or 15th guy on the roster isn't going to make or break our season.
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RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023. |
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Reflexx
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 11:54 am Post subject: |
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| Tony Anapolis wrote: | | I find it funny that the old man Peace applauds Scott for the tough workouts. All while Laker fans cry day in and day out about how old school Scott is too hard on the players. |
...and he also said it put him out for 3 days.
But I'm all for running the young guys ragged in the preseason. Just gotta use better judgment in the real season. |
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Reflexx
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 11:58 am Post subject: |
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| venturalakersfan wrote: | | Artest has been done as a player for several years but if he can help with the youngsters, then no reason to send him packing. That 14th or 15th guy on the roster isn't going to make or break our season. |
Agreed.
We're not winning the chip this year anyways. So if we can do something that can help develop players by including a mentor in the roster, then go for it. |
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PhoenixForce
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:07 pm Post subject: |
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| I want MWP on this team. He's way more mature now, works hard, and always brings intensity on defense. Offensively he's mediocre now but he won't have to do much on that end. |
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Laker's Fan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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The last couple roster spots aren't really about this year. It's whether MWP the player-mentor helps the future more than MWP coach + a project on a multi-year contract. Either way, not much win-loss impact this year. I've come around on the idea that MWP can have more impact with they young guys as a player than a coach. On the flip side, there is going to be one tough cut if they keep MWP.
Frazier and Jabari are obvious cuts. Lots of guard depth. Huertas is said to be a legit NBA player and the only vet PG. Upshaw is a project but has starter upside and is the only center under contract next year. That leaves cutting two from the group of MWP, Holmes, Sacre and Kelly. The PF rotation is crowded with Randle, Bass and (project) Nance. That leaves Sacre and Kelly as a decision for 3rd string center. Others haven't been in support of this, but I think Kelly defends the post better than given credit (9'2" standing reach and good fundamentals) and Randle benefits from playing with a center who can space. Rebounding becomes an issue, but it's 3rd string. I think Sacre shakes out here. Then you look at one of MWP, Holmes and Kelly. If you think you can get 3rd string center covered by Upshaw, do you look at cutting Kelly? Do you value MWP more than Holmes as a prospect?
IMO, those are the questions. |
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deal
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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MWP working the media to make the team...lol...
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Boldarblood
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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| It's not like we are expecting him to be a starter. The 13-15th guys on the roster do not get near the run that your 6th-10th guys get. What he brings to this team from a leadership point of view (who ever thought you would hear Artest/MWP & Leadership in the same sentence - unless you use Lack Of) is actually realy important. He is going to show some of the young guys how hard you have to work, how nothing is guaranteed. Health permitting, I really hope he makes the roster. |
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Annihilator
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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| venturalakersfan wrote: | | Artest has been done as a player for several years but if he can help with the youngsters, then no reason to send him packing. That 14th or 15th guy on the roster isn't going to make or break our season. |
Also, with all the youth that the Lakers already are trying to develop, the Lakers are going to have a hard time finding game time to develop the 15th guy. If Artest can motivate the team to defend the wing, this will have been a great investment.
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