After the team previously waived Yi Jianlian earlier in the day, it was largely thought the last roster spot would come down to World Peace and Robinson, both on non-guaranteed contracts. The NBA requires all teams to have their opening-night rosters finalized by 5 p.m. ET.
World Peace, 36, played in only two games during the preseason and did not make a shot. ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne previously reported last Friday the Lakers were considering World Peace for an assistant coaching job, though he preferred to continue playing.
"He's part of the culture we're trying to build," Lakers coach Luke Walton said, per Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. "It's about having good people around."
World Peace returned to the Lakers last season after being out of the NBA in 2014-15. He made the roster out of training camp and averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 35 appearances. Nearly all of his shooting splits reached career lows, and World Peace had the slow feet of a man in his mid-30s on defense.
The Lakers, a youth-laden bunch in the midst of the worst stretch of seasons in franchise history, nonetheless found World Peace invaluable as a teammate.
Guard D'Angelo Russell said the following of the veteran, per Ganguli:
He didn't treat me like a young player. He treated me like that's an excuse, being a young guy is an excuse, you can definitely attack it by being the best you can be at that age or the best you can be being a first-year player and stuff like that. So it was a different angle that I wanted to attack my first year and he helped me with it.
World Peace seemingly centered himself when he arrived in Los Angeles following a turbulent past, which included his inv...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
