Kevin Ding of the Orange Country Register is reporting that the Lakers have decided to amnesty Metta World World Peace.
Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times doesn't seem to think it's a done deal.
We're going to assume it is, because it should be.
Clad with the knowledge that Dwight Howard has decided to join the Houston Rockets, the Lakers are in a holding pattern. They don't have the available money to chase marquee free agents and the ones they can afford they don't want to sign to multiyear deals for fear of compromising their financial flexibility in 2014.
Waiting is all the Lakers can do at this point. Remaining patient, in hopes of scooping up any remaining pieces on one-year deals, will likely be their end game. Well, that, and using their amnesty clause.
Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Blake and World Peace were all eligible to be amnestied. Los Angeles isn't going to pay Kobe to leave for obvious reasons, even though he's pushing 35 and recovering from a ruptured Achilles. Blake's $4 million salary is but a blip on Tinseltown's financial radar, and the Lakers have no plans to part ways with Pau after losing Howard.
So we're left with Metta, who Dave McMenamin of ESPN notes was the clear choice:
A source familiar with the Lakers’ thinking told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne they will not use their one-time amnesty provision on Pau Gasol during the July 10-16 window when the league allows teams to waive one player they signed prior to December 2011 without that money owed counting against their salary cap.
With Gasol back in the fold to slide over to center in Howard’s absence, that means the Lakers will most likely amnesty Metta World Peace.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
