Metta World Peace opts into contract, but will Lakers keep him?
Metta World Peace has decided to stick with the Lakers. Now, will the Lakers stick with Metta World Peace?
According to a team spokesman, the veteran forward informed the team (through his agent Marc Cornstein) on Tuesday that he intends not to opt out of the final year of his contract at $7.7 million.
Cornstein also confirmed his client’s intentions to The Times.
The Lakers still have their one-time amnesty to cut a single player, a decision to be made between July 10 and July 16. As written in the NBA’s 2011 collective bargaining agreement, an amnesty player still receives his salary but falls off a team’s salary-cap and luxury-tax computations.
If the Lakers bring back free-agent center Dwight Howard at $20.5 million while maintaining the same $100-million payroll they had last season, the team would be on hook for approximately $72 million in luxury tax.
Removing World Peace from the equation via amnesty could save the Lakers about $24 million in tax. The 33-year-old averaged 12.4 points per game last season.
The Lakers have limited options when it comes to replacing World Peace, should they let him go -- but economics may push the team into a difficult decision.
This summer represents the Lakers’ last opportunity to use their amnesty; eligible players include Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Blake and World Peace.
As written in his contract, the deadline for World Peace to opt out of his deal is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday. He won’t officially opt in until Wednesday at midnight.
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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
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