Lakers News: Latest on Metta World Peace, Jose Calderon Injury and More

Having one of the most difficult sets of decisions to make ahead of Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers have taken their time figuring out how to trim down the roster.

Last year's putrid performance has the current roster sitting on an odd balance of young and veteran talent. Budding players such as D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram find themselves offset by the unknown futures of veterans such as Nick Young and Metta World Peace.

Two over the roster limit, the Lakers ran right up to the deadline. The latest talk around the franchise suggests a few different ways the front office could have gone and how the coaching staff might employ the pared-down roster.

Injury Updates

First and foremost, having a healthy roster would be nice.

Veteran point guard Jose Calderon, who came over from the New York Knicks, has dealt with a calf injury as of late. According to Mark Medina of the Orange County Register, he should be a go for the opener: "Lakers guard Jose Calderon has sat for the past week (left calf), but is expected to return for the season opener against Houston."

An important depth piece behind Russell, Calderon will continue to battle Marcelo Huertas for playing time in the rotation.

Also of note is the return of center Timofey Mozgov, the big free-agent signing over the offseason, to practice. The Lakers have taken their time working him back into things, given he has appeared in only one 82-game season since entering the league in 2010.

By the sounds of it, the Lakers will have the necessary pieces in place for the season opener, though the final construction of the roster and lineup isn't clear.

Metta World Peace, Roster Updates

The biggest question around the Lakers centered on Metta World Peace, whose fate seemed tied to both the roster and the...coaching staff?

According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers were considering keeping the veteran around as a member of the staff given his ability to mentor young players: "Sources told ESPN.com that World Peace's impact as a mentor to young players last season was a big reason they invited him to training camp again under new coach Luke Walton."

Since he averaged only 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last year, World Peace making the roster wasn't assured from the jump. He was stuck at a position featuring veteran signee Luol Deng, high draft pick Ingram and the promising Anthony Brown, so the Lakers taking a younger slant seemed likely. According to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times, Brown was the final cut.

Keeping World Peace around on the coaching staff seemed like the team trying to get the best of both worlds. The organization would have been better for it, though most figured he wasn't ready to hang up his sneakers for good remains to be seen.

In other news from Stein, Yi Jianlian apparently asked for his release from the team, a request the Lakers will fulfill. The former sixth overall pick didn't see the usage he wanted this preseason (10.7 minutes per game), and the request makes the cutdown and lineup process easier for the Lakers.

Lineup Approach

As hinted, the Lakers have various options with both the roster and lineups.

After watching last year's coaching staff stubbornly go with veterans at the expense of getting young guys experience, head coach Luke Walton isn't ready to commit to a starting lineup based on how his guys performed in exhibitions.

“I’ve gotten a pretty good feel for the second unit group, but we have to figure something out with the starting group,” Walton said, according to Medina. “Until we get that under control, those lineups are probably going to change.”

This could lead to some interesting looks. A Russell-Jordan Clarkson-Deng-Randle-Mozgov lineup makes sense. Walton wants to bring along Ingram slowly off the bench, and the head coach has other options at guard such as Lou Williams and Young, who has impressed over the preseason. Don't forget intriguing contributors such as Larry Nance and Tarik Black underneath the basket, either.

The players won't complain either way. Walton seems to embody the "player's coach" mantra well, if a quote from Nance captured by For The Win's Alysha Tsuji is any sign:

Given the wealth of options and the players buying in to whatever Walton sells, the Lakers shouldn't have any problem improving on last year's 17 wins.

How Walton shuffles his lineups will play a large role in where the team goes from there, though.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.

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