Metta World Peace Makes Lakers Roster: Latest Comments and Reaction

The Los Angeles Lakers brought Metta World Peace aboard late in the offseason, which indicated he wasn't guaranteed a place on the final roster. On Monday, the team opted to keep the veteran forward as part of its final 15 players to carry at the start of the 2015-16 season, per the team's official website.  

Bill Oram of the Orange County Register reported on Oct. 20 that Los Angeles was deciding between World Peace and Jabari Brown for the final roster spot. Brown averaged 11.9 points in just under 30 minutes per contest last season in 19 games while World Peace was out of the NBA entirely.

Lakers head coach Byron Scott spoke about what he was hoping to see from World Peace to merit a roster bid, per the Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus:

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I think he just needs to show us that he's still Metta, that he can defend at a very high level at multiple positions, that he can still get up and down the floor and that he can play within the offense. I think we already know he can be a great teammate. He's been great at training camp with our young guys. We want to know if he can still play at a high level. That's the biggest thing.

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Brown had shown potential in his brief NBA action, but he had his work cut out to garner even a minimal role. The players in Los Angeles' perimeter rotation include the legendary Kobe Bryant, reigning No. 2 overall draft pick D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, 2014-15 Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams and Nick Young.

The Lakers' frontcourt lineup is also competitive. The team brought in Brandon Bass as a free agent before World Peace; the other options at power forward include Julius Randle, stretch 4 Ryan Kelly and rookie Larry Nance Jr.

Although World Peace may find it hard to get minutes at the 4, as Scott hinted in his comments, the 35-year-old is versatile enough to play the 3 in bigger lineups. Defense is at a premium in L.A. after the Lakers finished second worst in defensive rating, yielding 108 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.

World Peace gives Los Angeles' prospective rotation a bit more versatility. His innate chemistry with Bryant and prior stint with the Lakers that featured an NBA title in 2010 had to contribute in a big way to the team's decision to retain him.

This is a young Lakers squad that has Bryant as a mentor figure, but it could also use someone like World Peace to serve in that capacity too. It is evident L.A. values the wisdom World Peace can pass down to the young cornerstones the Lakers are putting in place in an effort to rebuild the historic franchise into a perennial contender.