NBA: World is at Peace even after the Lakers amnesty

Less than a week removed from officially ending his time with the Lakers, Metta World Peace stepped foot Friday on the set of Hallmark Channel's "Home and Family" at Universal Studios as if nothing changed.

World Peace maintained his gracious personality. In between segments, various actors thanked him for his four seasons with the Lakers, who he helped guide to the 2010 NBA championship, raised funds for mental health charities and kept everyone laughing along the way. At no point did World Peace sound bitter surrounding the circumstances that led to the Lakers waiving him through the amnesty provision.

For one, World Peace said he feels "blessed" he signed with the New York Knicks to a two-year deal worth $3.2 million, including a player option his second season. The former Ron Artest grew up in the Queensbridge section of New York and played at St. John's University. He also called the Lakers "smart" for waiving him, a cost-cutting move that saved them as much as $15 million in luxury taxes.

"If I was the franchise (player), it's different," World Peace said in an interview with this newspaper. "But not being the franchise (player), they have to make a decision. They made a good decision."

Shedding ties with World Peace didn't give the Lakers additional cap flexibility to acquire another player. The Lakers replaced him by signing

former USC standout Nick Young to a two-year deal at the veteran's minimum.

He's considered a vast offensive upgrade to World Peace, whose 9.94 points in four seasons with the Lakers came on 40.2 percent shooting. But World Peace's absence coupled with Dwight Howard's departure to the Houston Rockets left the Lakers vulnerable on defense.

World Peace downplayed that reality.

"Things weren't clicking," World Peace reasoned for the Lakers' first-round sweep to the San Antonio Spurs. "I always knew Dwight was going to Houston because things weren't clicking. Once Kobe (Bryant) said he can come back for three years, I knew Dwight was going to Houston."

How did he know?

"It's about clicking," World Peace said. "Dwight doesn't want to be the guy. Dwight had flaws like anybody. But Dwight just wanted to be comfortable. He wasn't comfortable."

Meanwhile, World Peace remained one of the few bright spots of an otherwise disappointing Lakers season.

His improved conditioning contributed to him averaging 12.4 points, his highest output with the Lakers. But he became limited when he returned 12 days after having surgery to treat torn cartilage on his left knee.

World Peace averaged only six points a game and shot 25 percent in the playoffs.

"I thought I was going to finish my career as a Laker," World Peace said. "Sometimes it doesn't work that way."

Shortly after hearing about his departure, World Peace called general manager Mitch Kupchak and asked if he could serve as an unofficial coach to any of the current players. World Peace said Kupchak granted him access to the Lakers' facility to train should he retire, giving him an avenue to fulfill that job description.

But those plans quickly changed.

World Peace narrowed his choices down to three scenarios. He talked with former Houston Rockets teammate Yao Ming about playing with his Chinese Basketball Association team in Shanghi. World Peace insisted he considered playing arena football out of curiosity. He then talked with the Knicks this week.

What about the Clippers?

"I'm the biggest Lakers and Clippers fan ever. But I didn't want to," World Peace said. "I loved Chris Paul and Matt Barnes. But I was avoiding his calls. (Barnes) was going to convince me to play with the Clippers."

World Peace sounded different about the Lakers, though.

His defining moment came with his Game 7 performance of the 2010 NBA title against the Boston Celtics. He had 20 points and five steals.

Instead of taking credit, World Peace sounded more interested in calling the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss "a winner" and praising the inspiring speeches from former Lakers guard Derek Fisher.

"I enjoyed deferring to my teammates and enjoyed not looking good for the benefit of the team," World Peace said. "Without Kobe, Pau (Gasol), Phil (Jackson) and Derek, I don't win a ring. It's that simple. I don't care what anybody says that I won Game 7. That's not true. Without those guys, I wasn't going to win."

Had that happened, World Peace may not have had the same platform to benefit mental health charities. He publicly thanked his psychologist in the Game 7 post-game press conference. World Peace then auctioned off his championship ring, raising more than $600,000 to benefit mental health charities.

To benefit his foundation Xcel University, World Peace recently penned a children's book and will sign copies of them next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Grove. World Peace also plans to make similar inroads in New York, including hosting a comedy show Sept. 12.

"Without the Lakers, I wouldn't have a platform," he said. "It helped my brand in helping people."

Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/sports/ci_23698247/nba-world-is-at-peace-even-after-lakers?source=rss

the killers brandy michael pineda charles taylor carl crawford mad cow disease rampart