Lakers' Metta World Peace eyes coaching after retirement
Metta World Peace is certain of his calling after retirement.
"I want to coach one day," World Peace said during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina. "I definitely have an interest in coaching."
World Peace, who once received the longest suspension in NBA history in 2004 when he was known as Ron Artest, made a huge comeback when he won the NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.
After playing for a year in Italy and China, World Peace began a second stint with the Lakers this season and assumed a player/assistant coach role, becoming a mentor for younger players, especially Julius Randle, according to Yahoo News, which is exactly what the Lakers had in mind for him after signing him with a non-guaranteed contract.
Despite being known for his colorful personality, all the coaches who have trained him can attest that World Peace has what it takes to be a good strategist and get through the players.
"You have to give him a lot of credit for somebody who was out of the league for a couple of years," Lakers coach Byron Scott said of World Peace. "He worked as hard as he worked to get back into the league and be able to be a vital part of what we're trying to do. It's been great."
World Peace said he would not mind starting out as an NBA assistant coach, NBA player development coach or even in the Development League. In the meantime, he says he feels confident he can deliver good performances in the league.
"I feel way better. I can do whatever I want," the 36-year-old said. "Essentially, I'm a wild card."