After his 16th season ended with the Lakers finishing with their worst record in franchise history for the third season in a row, Metta World Peace wants some more action.
There are rumors that the 36-year-old small forward is planning to retire, but he didn't sound like a man who made up his mind in his most recent comments. It seems World Peace wants to see the Lakers' rebuilding stage through.
"We'll see, hopefully [I'll be back to the Lakers], hopefully," World Peace told TMZ when attending a charity event Thursday night. "Lakers [are] the best team in the world. Golden State, they're the best team ever, but Lakers, they're the best team in the world."
The Warriors finished with an NBA-record 73 wins in the regular season and have marched out to a 2-0 series lead over the Trail Blazers in their second-round series, even with reigning MVP Steph Curry sidelined with a knee sprain.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are spending their third straight spring watching the playoffs instead of being involved.
In 2013-14, Los Angeles set a record for their worst finish ever with a 27-55 mark, leading to the departure of Mike D'Antoni. Byron Scott then took over in 2014-15 as the team finished an even worse 21-61. After setting a new low with a 17-65 mark, Scott was fired at the end of the season.
The Lakers tabbed former small forward and Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton to take over as head coach in hopes of turning things around in the post-Kobe Bryant era. It seems World Peace isn't ready to follow in Bryant's footsteps after the five-time NBA champion retired following this season.
World Peace is eyeing a return for his 17th season to continue a career full of accolades, which includes a 2010 NBA championship, an All-Star appearance in 2004 and an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2004 as well.
The Lakers had an ugly year on and off the court and a recent scandal between Nick Young and D'Angelo Russell was more entertaining than anything that happened on the court this season.
Russell's video of "Swaggy P" admitting to cheating on his fiancée, rapper Iggy Azalea, went viral. This led to Azalea forgiving Young, but also threatening bodily harm to him if he ever gets caught cheating again.
On-court mediocrity and off-court drama hasn't kept World Peace from wanting to continue his career.
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