When Mike Brown made the move to bench Metta World Peace we knew the former Ron Artest already had one foot firmly planted in hoops obscurity. Now that he’s officially irrelevant and buried on the Lakers’ bench it is safe to say he’s looking at owning property in Palookaville.
World Peace has become a complete non-factor for Coach Brown and the Lakers. Getting just 20 minutes of burn a night has limited an already unconfident Metta to being nothing more than a body on the court.
Across the board Metta’s numbers are down to career low levels and this is coming off a career worst year. Looks like the Lakers got about all they were ever going to receiver from Artest during his first season in Los Angeles. Even then it took some serious clutch moments in the postseason to salvage an otherwise forgettable year.
With the Lakers looking highly unlikely to make a deep playoff run you can’t even use the “clutch” angle to defend World Peace.
Brown’s experiment has been a colossal failure thus far. Early on World Peace looked confident in his new role. He was taking advantage of matchups, attacking the hoop, creating turnovers and was active. Since that quick start his production has gone the way of his foot speed and slowed.
With two more years left on his contract, the Lakers are going to be hard pressed to find any takers of Metta. That is why the non-usage of the amnesty clause looms larger by the day. Of course with the way the Lakers are looking they’re going to need all the help they can get.
Metta might not be a part of the solution at this point but just about everyone not named Kobe is a part of the problem. Metta’s issues are only magnified because of his profile. Unfortunately that profile is now marginalized on the court. Off the court World Peace has done plenty to remain relevant. That was always the concern when he came to L.A. and now that is exactly what is coming to be.
Coach Brown has already dug deep into his bag. There’s no telling what else he could possibly to do motivate Metta. My guess is removing him from the rotation all together is the next step. At this point there isn’t anything Metta World Peace gives you that Devin Ebanks doesn’t.