Metta World Peace (or is The Pandas Friend?) signed in China this year.
But the Chinese season ends in February, and World Peace has talked about wanting another NBA chance.
Could he sign somewhere this spring?
His brother, Daniel Artest, says there’s a chance.
Is Artest positioned to know which teams are interested in his brother? Absolutely. Is Artest a reliable source of information? That’s a little more ambiguous.
The Clippers have a full roster of 15 players, and they don’t have enough room below the hard cap – imposed when they signed Spencer Hawes to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception – to add World Peace, even on a minimum contract. But waiving Jared Cunningham before his contract becomes guaranteed Jan. 10 would take care of both impediments.
The bigger issue is that World Peace, 35, looked really over the hill with the Knicks last season. Players that age rarely look fresher a year later.
Doc Rivers has gone great lengths to stock the back end of the Clippers’ roster with veterans, so it makes sense to keep an eye on World Peace. But at this point, they could probably do better. That said, World Peace will have a chance to prove his value in China this season.