Lakers Rumors: Latest Outlook on Final Roster Before Cut Deadline

The Los Angeles Lakers are among the last teams to make their final roster cuts, which have to be turned in to the league by 5 p.m. ET Monday.

Most already made their announcements over the weekend, which in many cases were self-explanatory. For the Lakers, things haven't been as easy. They're currently sitting at 17 players—two more than the 15-man maximum. 

Thomas Robinson and Metta World Peace were seemingly the likeliest guys to be on the outs. Robinson showed some flashes in the preseason but is little more than an energy bench body who is playing on a non-guaranteed contract. World Peace is 36, played poorly in limited appearances last season and could easily take some non-playing organizational role.

As the deadline approaches, it appears one major thing has changed. Here's a look at the latest news regarding the Lakers' final roster, which will open up a job for Robinson or World Peace.

Yi Jianlian Requests Release

Kelvin Kuo/Associated Press

ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported Yi Jianlian, brought back stateside from China this offseason, has requested his release from the team.

Yi was unsatisfied after being unable to carve out a solidified role in the preseason. He averaged just 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds across 10.7 minutes per game, shooting 35 percent from the floor. The Lakers had been coaxing Yi back to the states for the better part of two years after he emerged as perhaps the best player in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Yi asking for his release means the Lakers will eat $1.2 million of his contract. There was an additional $6.8 million of non-guaranteed money, which was tied to "likely" bonuses. That number will be wiped off the team's cap, and it's unlikely Yi will get anything similar from another team upon his release.

Stein's report indicated Yi has not made it clear whether he plans to continue his NBA comeback or return to China. The former lottery pick has not played in an NBA regular-season game since a 2011-12 stint with the Dallas Mavericks. Odds are he'll take the guaranteed portion of his contract back home and never be seen again in NBA circles.

T-Rob or Metta?

Juan Ocampo/Getty Images

That leaves one spot to choose between Robinson and World Peace.

From a purely logical standpoint, Robinson should be the favorite—mostly because he's an actual NBA player. Robinson doesn't do much of anything well, but he's a good rebounder who plays with energy. On a team that's going to struggle to get to 25 wins, that has some intrinsic value. The Lakers don't have much in the way of elite rebounding on this team, and Robinson is a natural backup fit should Tarik Black go down with an injury.

World Peace, at this point, is on the roster more out of veteran leadership than anything. He played in just two preseason games, didn't make a single shot and lacks in a lot of areas as a player. His feet are too slow for him to defend anyone on the perimeter, and even most 4s are a step quicker than him at this point. The Lakers are going to be terrible defensively and may value his communication skills, but they're a young, bad team. They need more out of that 15th roster spot.

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reported Robinson "feels encouraged" about making the roster.

"It's out of my hands now," Robinson told reporters. "I feel like I've done everything I can to this point to give myself the best shot that I can to make this team. It's up to the front office now."

Stein and Ramona Shelburne previously reported the Lakers were warming to the idea of World Peace potentially becoming an assistant coach. World Peace still wants to continue playing, however—even if it's not in Los Angeles. That leaves L.A. in a bit of a sticky situation, but odds are cooler heads will prevail.

World Peace will likely find his services aren't in high demand and agree to join the organization in a non-playing capacity, with Robinson taking the 15th roster spot.