Why L.A. Lakers Should Cut Ties with Metta World Peace After This Season

Heading into his fourteenth NBA season, Lakers' forward Metta World Peace may be on his last legs in Los Angeles.

One of the best perimeter defenders of the last ten years, the mercurial World Peace displayed quite the repertoire of skills over his illustrious career. And he finally captured that elusive first championship ring while playing alongside Kobe Bryant.

Despite his successes, recent evidence suggests that World Peace's effectiveness has declined significantly over the last few seasons.

The St. John's product has become just a shell of the player who was the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 2004.

World Peace has an early termination option after this season, giving him the option to stay under contract another year with the Lake Show.

Given his salary of over $7 million, it is unlikely that World Peace will find better pay elsewhere. Consequently, the onus will be on Mitch Kupchak and the Lakers' front office to find a new home for the artist formerly known as Ron Artest.

Here is why the Lakers should cut ties with Metta World Peace after this season.

 

Declining Productivity

Over the last couple of seasons, World Peace has seen his numbers dip dramatically.



Once the gritty heart of an underdog Houston Rockets team, World Peace has been forced to take on a reduced role alongside Bryant and Pau Gasol.

In the Lakers' 2010 championship season, World Peace was still productive on the perimeter, scoring 11.0 PPG, while knocking down 41.4 percent of his shots and 35.5 percent of his three-pointers.

But as the Lakers declined, so did World Peace.

Last season the forward put up just 7.7 PPG while shooting a career low 29.6 percent from downtown. 

Coach Mike Brown found less use for him, opting to start World Peace in only 45 of a possible 64 games. Prior to that, World Peace had started...

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