Lakers Rumors: Darren Collison considers a return to Lakers or Clippers

Darren Collison is considering a return to the NBA after surprising many with his retirement announcement last year. Lakers rumors link him to the roster. Lake Show Life breaks down the situation and what has to happen to get him in a uniform.

Los Angeles Lakers rumors have begun picking up with the trade deadline quickly approaching. As a result, many things have begun popping up.

January 1, 2020, brought three interesting events that will have the Los Angeles Lakers fans buzzing the next few days. The first event was the nuclear explosion the Lakers put on the Phoenix Suns in the first half of their matchup on Wednesday night.

The second event was the nuclear meltdown in the second half of the Phoenix matchup. The near-collapse of the game showed two things the Lakers need to address if they have a chance to going to the NBA Finals.

1. An upgrade to the bench with a player that can knock down shots with any regularity.
2. A playmaker that holds down the fort when LeBron James is sitting on the bench. 

There was no reason to justify why LeBron James and Anthony Davis having to even touch the hardwood in the second half. History teaches us that the game should have been over and the Suns had no chance.

This game was a perfect “Load Management” game for the Lakers. Take care of business and allow the bench to do their job and finish off the game. Instead of doing their job, the bench put in one of their worst performances of the season.

When the rest of the starters returned to the game, the Suns had all of the momentum and the Lakers blew a game-high 36 point lead all the way down to seven points in the last quarter. If not for LeBron James closing out the game, this would have been easily one of the biggest collapses in NBA history. Best believe that it was close.

This possible fiasco leads up to the third event. With the weaknesses being exposed for all of the other NBA contenders to see, it brought a former point guard to the world of Lakers rumors.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Darren Collison is considering a comeback with his sights on the L.A teams. As if the rivalry on the floor wasn’t enough, now the Lakers and Clippers are chasing two players, Andre Iguodala and Collison.

Believe it or not, it was rumored that Collison was a potential option if the Lakers didn’t land the third All-Star player they wanted (Okay Kawhi Leonard!) and use some of the cap space created to sign him last offseason. But, he shocked the NBA world by retiring for religious reasons.

Before retiring, Collison averaged 11.2 points and 6.0 assists in Indiana. The one thing that will have the Lakers salivating is his shooting. He shot 46.7% from the field and 40.7% from the 3-point line.

But before discussing what Darren Collison brings to the Lakers in February possibly, the Lakers have to do without him for the next month. Let’s look at it.

LeBron James plays the point guard for one reason. The Los Angeles Lakers have no choice in the matter.

To get a full understanding of how bad the Lakers bench “playmakers” were, take a gander at the box scores of the guards.

• Rajon Rondo: In 15 minutes, Rondo out up numbers of 0 points (0-of-4 shooting, 0-of-1 from 3-point land), one assist and one turnover. His plus/minus was an atrocious -12.
• Troy Daniels: In four minutes, Daniels scored 0 points (0-of-1 shooting, was a 3-point shot) and did not register anything on the box score. His plus/minus was -12.
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: KCP contributed three points (1-of-4 shooting, 1-of-3 from 3-point land), three rebounds, two assists and a steal. His plus/minus was -12.
• Alex Caruso: He has an asterisk here. He left the game for calf soreness. But for the point of reference, he missed his only shot. His plus/minus was +2.  

All of these players combined to tally four assists. LeBron James had triple that amount with 12. In other words, the Lakers have no reliable playmakers besides LeBron James.

Former NBA head coach, Sam Mitchell breaks down the problems on NBATV.

Now before Rondo-stans bring up his performance against the Portland Trail Blazers, it does need to be mentioned that the Blazers have been decimated with injuries to their front line. Rondo can be effective against lesser teams. What has he done against contenders? Take your time.

It is believed that the Lakers have three point guards on the roster. Really? Who are they? Rajon Rondo is walking around with a neon arrow sign saying “Not the answer!”.

Alex Caruso is not a point guard. Quinn Cook watches the games on Spectrum Sports Net at this point. After the Phoenix performance, look for Troy Daniels to join him. Jared Dudley is happy being the last guy on the bench. When they are on the floor, opponents would offer them five bucks to shoot the ball. Nobody’s scared of them.

This is why Collison would be a huge upgrade. Collison is an efficient player that can score the basketball by getting his own shot. In addition, he previously played for head coach Frank Vogel during the 2010-12 NBA seasons with the Indiana Pacers.

Vogel will trust him. A situation that the majority of the guards don’t have and one guard (Rondo) doesn’t deserve.

With Darren Collison’s time table set for after the trade deadline, it does give the Lakers some hope.

Fixing up the financial situation for Collison’s potential comeback will take some work. The Lakers’ front office is working behind the scenes to improve the roster via the trade deadline and March 1 buyout deadline.

The trade route is highly unlikely considering their current contracts and the lack of production from their investment. Place your bets on the buyout market as the Lakers try to grab pieces for the playoff run.

Let’s just say that nothing happens on the Lakers front and they acquire NO players. Bobby Marks of ESPN lays out the mission for the Lakers.

That Disabled Player Exception was granted to the Lakers thanks to the injury of DeMarcus Cousins, who blew his knee out in August. The exception is the push that Lakers have to financially woo Collison.

The money is not prorated and allows the Lakers to offer more money than the Clippers if they don’t make any sudden moves to open cap space. This is one of the main reasons (Along with his close relationship with AD!) the Lakers won’t waive Cousins.

Had the Lakers released Cousins immediately after the injury, they wouldn’t have been eligible for the exception. Hence, Boogie’s spot on the team is more than being kind-hearted.

Now, the only way the Lakers can lose the exception waiting on Collison is if Cousins is traded or returns to play this season. Don’t count on it. Realistic trade options are very few at this point.  So just add Cousins to the list of untradeable assets the Lakers have.

However, the team will have to cut someone to use the exception to sign Collison. The motivation, however, is allowing them to almost double whatever the minimum is for any other team for the rest of the season if they free up a roster spot.

Now, who do the Los Angeles Lakers release? It’s getting good now, right?

Lakers rumors will name a few players, but Lake Show Life places their bets on this guy.

Now that we know that the Lakers have to free up a roster spot to add Collison, let’s take a look at some of the candidates that the Lakers rumors that will float around for the next few weeks and reality.

DeMarcus Cousins:

Sure, you just read that Cousins will not be traded. That will be a Lakers rumor. Here’s the reality.

Most will declare that DeMarcus Cousins will get the ax, considering that he’s likely out for the year. Those folks are dead wrong.

The media may have portrayed Cousins as a malcontent, but throughout his career, his teammates absolutely love him. Darren Collison is one of them. Cousins actually made the list of players that Collison thanked in his retirement letter. Cousins was specifically mentioned with Collison writing these words.

"“I either have a close relationship with those that I have mentioned or they inspired me to work harder.”"

Collison and Cousins were teammates for three seasons in Sacramento. Now couple that relationship with Cousins’ close friendships with Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Rajon Rondo.

Speaking of Rajon Rondo, let’s get this out-of-the-way.

Rajon Rondo:

Rajon Rondo will be the name of choice among Lakers fans to be traded, released, sent home, etc. Lake Show Life has something to say to those fans. Tough. Now it’s a good time to lay out how locker room politics work in the NBA.

Rondo would not be traded even if he didn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract (Which he does!). Why? Because Rondo is tight with James, Davis and Cousins, and played one season with Collison in Sacramento. Both Collison and Rondo (Let’s throw Avery Bradley in there shall we?) are also represented by Bill Duffy of BDA Sports Management.

It’s not in Duffy’s best interest professionally or financially to negotiate a formal release of one of his clients for another. Finally, the Lakers reportedly swear by Rondo’s presence in the locker room and on the floor. Then there’s the “Playoff Rondo” thing.

Quinn Cook:

Quinn Cook will be brought up, but he has a two-year deal is one of three tradeable contracts the Lakers have along with Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green. Smart money is the Lakers wait to see if they need his contract for a potential deal to match salaries.

Jared Dudley:

He’s happy being a veteran presence that sits at the end of the bench and is cool with it. NBA teams need that more than most would think. The player that would be cut is a guy that is about out of the rotation for the season but it is not Dudley.

Troy Daniels:

There were actual comments on this site that Troy Daniels would be a steal for the Lakers because he’s a 3-point shooter. Sometimes these predictions are laughable.

Daniels was a specialist on a Phoenix Suns team that won 19 games last year. At least Quinn Cook was on a championship team and actually saw the floor during the playoffs.

Daniels, who is on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal and has mostly fallen out of the rotation based on his poor shooting slump is the odds on favorite to be released. Defense? Hornets announcer compared his defense to a turnstile.

Sure Darren Collison played for Frank Vogel with the Pacers, but as long as we’re talking about relationships, let’s take this across the hall of the Staples Center. He’s already played for Doc Rivers and the Clippers before, so it’s not like the Lakers don’t have things to consider.

A Patrick Beverley injury and a strong front office presence could swing things the wrong way.

With Patrick Beverley going down with a wrist injury, its safe to assume that Darren Collison is definitely in the Clippers sights. We’ve talked about money and relationships.

Based on Collison’s religion, money is not the driving motivation here. It’s about happiness and comfort. Something he can achieve with the Clippers franchise considering he’s dealt with them before.

The Clippers would present Collison with familiarity due to the fact he spent the 2013-14 season with them.

The Clippers starting point guard, Patrick Beverley, is currently out, while Landry Shamet and Lou Williams are shooting guards. Plus, the roster could be totally different around the trade deadline. Lake Show Life always warns Lakers fans about the Jerry West effect.

Have we missed anything? Oh, that’s right, the player. Let’s look at the merchandise.

Who’s Darren Collison and why is he in the Lakers rumors talk these days.

What the big story about Darren Collison’s retirement was the shock waves sent around the NBA. It was rumored that Collison could have collected a four-year contract worth $80 million or more in last summer’s free agency bonanza. While the Pacers were looking to move on from him with Malcolm Brogdon in the fold, there was an NBA checkbook somewhere for Collison’s services.

Collison stated to ESPN’s The Undefeated that he retired to focus on his faith and his status as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Now that he wants to return, let’s look at the tale of the tape.

Collison entered the NBA in 2009 as the No. 21 overall pick in the draft by the New Orleans Hornets out of UCLA. He played for 10 years with the aforementioned Hornets, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Clippers and Sacramento Kings.

In 708 career regular-season games, Darren Collison put up career numbers of 12.5 points, 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals shooting 47.1% from the field, 39.4% from beyond the arc and knocking down 85.3% from the charity stripe.

Last season, Collison started 76 games for the Pacers averaging 11.2 points, 6.0 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest.

Collison’s best season came in 2014-15 with the Kings when he averaged career highs in points (16.1), rebounds (3.2) and steals (1.5). He was a solid playmaker as well, collecting 5.6 assists per game.

The question now is if he’s worth all of this drama between the two L.A. teams.

The answer is who knows? For the Lakers, it’s clear. The Lakers need another playmaker and defender to come off the bench. Darren Collison is an inexpensive major upgrade that will help the Lakers chances of succeeding in the playoffs.