Before the 2016-17 NBA season got underway for the Los Angeles Lakers, Metta World Peace future with the team was up in the air. World Peace was on the roster bubble with many anticipating the veteran forward to be cut by the team to get down to the maximum of 15 players on the final roster.
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Fortunately for World Peace, the Lakers coaching staff valued his presence as a veteran voice in the locker room and in practice. The one-time NBA champion was able to secure a spot on the roster but was rumored to have been offered a position on Luke Walton’s coaching staff beforehand.
Although World Peace has expressed his interest in coaching at some point, he wants to continue his playing career. The Lakers forward recently talked about his coaching intentions after his playing days are over in an interview with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon:
Are you interested in coaching at the NBA level? I’ve heard that you might actually want to coach high school ball.
MWP: I did high schools [in 2014-15]. I was the assistant coach at Palisades High School [outside of Los Angeles], boys and girls. We actually won a championship. It really don’t matter what level, but I definitely want to get into it. Preferably the ultimate goal is to be a professional head coach one day.
With World Peace having a close relationship with Walton, it may not be out of the realm of possibility that he eventually takes an opportunity to be on the coaching staff in the near future.
In the meantime, World Peace wants to go out the same way Kobe Bryant did with 20 seasons in the books. It may be a stretch for a player that has clearly regressed as he has in terms of what he brings on the floor, but World Peace has been adamant about his goal.
