Los Angeles Lakers news: Metta World Peace makes roster final cut; Kobe Bryant, Jordan Clarkson injuries update
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It's official. Metta World Peace, the very same man which was previously referred to as Ron Artest, has found his way back to the world's biggest stage in basketball. And, his Los Angeles Lakers team mates Kobe Bryant and Jordan Clarkson are both expected to suit up for the season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
These could bode well for a team which is going to need all the help it can get this coming NBA 2015-2016 season, especially in a relatively tougher Western Conference where making it to the top eight spot for the playoffs is a long shot for a lot of teams, and all the more so if you are a team coming off from your worst season in team history and just winning a combined total of 48 games for the last two seasons, as per Bleacher Report.
World Peace has earned his right to a roster spot of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Oct. 26. The Lakers, meanwhile, had to let go of Jabari Brown to settle on its 15-man lineup for the upcoming season.
"It wasn't easy being a vet and trying to get back in the league," said World Peace after a team practice, according to NBA.com. "I don't want people to think I didn't work and just got lucky. I did a lot of hard work. Success for me is just enjoying the process, working hard, continuing to master the game of life and staying ready."
Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, has been making a steady progress after bruising his leg in one of the pre-season games. The five-time NBA champion, who is entering his 20th season in the league, is likely to play in the Lakers' opening game after getting some action from the team's practice on Sunday, ESPN's Baxter Holmes reported.
Lakers' head coach Byron Scott said that the all-star shooting guard felt good after doing some scrimmage, and has been moving "pretty fluid" just like before. He admitted that Kobe was still trying to shake off some rust, but surpassed his expectations for someone who has been sidelined for about two weeks.
Meanwhile, Lakers' rising star Jordan Clarkson is also expected to make it to the Wednesday game. His status is still listed as day-to-day after going down from a sore right shoulder, according to Bleacher Report. The MRI result last Friday gives him a clean bill of health. The Filipino-American guard made it to last year's NBA first-team, all-rookie selection after averaging close to 12 points per game and dishing out 3.5 assists.
