Metta World Peace to Lakers: Latest Contract Details, Analysis and Reaction

After spending a year-and-a-half away from the NBA, Metta World Peace will make his return to the league in 2015-16. The 35-year-old small forward signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced Thursday.

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski initially reported it would be a one-year deal, while Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reported the deal is nonguaranteed and worth $1.5 million.

World Peace last played in the NBA in 2013-14, when he spent 29 games with the New York Knicks. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.4 minutes on the floor. His 11.7 PER was the third-lowest mark of his 15-year NBA career, per Basketball-Reference.com.

In general, his production began sliding when he left the Houston Rockets following the 2008-09 season, and his shooting cratered with the Lakers.

Here's a look at his offensive numbers per 36 minutes and a sampling of advanced metrics, courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com:

Season	Games	PTS	FG%	TS%	REB	AST	STL	PER
2008-09	69	17.3	.401	.512	5.3	3.4	1.5	15.6
2009-10	77	11.7	.414	.514	4.6	3.2	1.5	12.1
2010-11	82	10.4	.397	.485	4.0	2.6	1.9	11.2
2011-12	64	10.3	.394	.478	4.6	2.9	1.4	11.0
2012-13	75	13.2	.403	.517	5.3	1.6	1.7	12.5
2013-14	29	12.9	.397	.469	5.5	1.6	2.2	11.7

After the Knicks waived him in February 2014, World Peace spent time with the Sichuan Blue Whales in China and also played with Italian league side Pallacanestro Cantu. Between the two teams, he averaged 16.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game, per RealGM.

Given both his age and lackluster production a few years ago, few fans had him as a legitimate free-agent option for any team this offseason.

Guys who are over 30 years old and haven't played in the NBA in more than a year aren't exactly in high demand. In addition, World Peace isn't a specialist like sharpshooter Ray Allen, who has continually excelled even late into his career.

With that said, there's a reason players such as Kendrick Perkins continue to be employed. Contending teams always seem to find a role for aging veterans who have a wealth of postseason experience.

While the Lakers wouldn't fall into that camp, they do have a number of young stars, such as D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr., who could benefit from having a title-winning veteran on the squad.

According to Lakers sideline reporter Mike Trudell, World Peace has already worked with the team's emerging talents:

Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley argued in August that World Peace would fill a major hole on the roster:

"

Their depth chart looks painfully thin at small forward, even with head coach Byron Scott telling NBA.com's David Aldridge that [Kobe] Bryant "will play more 3 than 2."

For starters, the 37-year-old Bryant has logged 89 percent of his career minutes at shooting guard. That doesn't mean he couldn't suit up at another spot, but a move would require this old, stubborn dog to learn some new tricks.

Plus, if Bryant is the team's most reliable option at the 3, then it doesn't have one. He's played only 41 games over the past two seasons combined while battling a torn Achilles, a broken bone near his left knee and a torn right rotator cuff.

"

Who knows? Perhaps limiting World Peace to a handful of duties will work for him in the same way it helped J.R. Smith after he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs asked Smith to almost exclusively be a three-point shooter, and he became a much more efficient scorer as a result.

This stat from Synergy Sports seems to indicate World Peace can remain a solid contributor:

There is little to no risk with this move from the Lakers' perspective.

If it works, then World Peace improves the team both in the short and long term. If it doesn't work out, Los Angeles wasn't exactly a title contender before the signing.

World Peace offers a nice stopgap on the court for the franchise as it continues its organic rebuild.