Metta World Peace weighs options for next season

Sam Amick | USA TODAY Sports

Only Metta World Peace truly knows what he wants to do in the post-Los Angeles Lakers portion of his life, but this much is clear: he has no interest in being picked up off of waivers by the Sunday evening deadline.

The former Los Angeles Lakers small forward was waived by way of the league's one-time amnesty clause on Thursday, and a two-day waiver wire process begins on Friday night through which teams that are under the salary cap can bid for his services. World Peace would still be paid the $7.7 million he's owed in the final season of his deal, but the team that wins the bidding war would assume part of the cost.

Yet while World Peace told reporters in Los Angeles on Friday that he was considering retiring, playing in China, playing arena football or perhaps becoming a player development coach, the reality remains that he would not be paid the $7.7 million he is owed if he refused to report to the team that claimed him. If he clears waivers and becomes a free agent, however, there are still indications that he has interest in joining a contending team in the NBA. The issue at hand appears to be his professional freedom, as clearing waivers would allow him to make a choice on retiring or joining a contender while not losing the earnings.

A person with knowledge of World Peace's situation told USA TODAY Sports that he now has the Los Angeles Clippers atop his list of possible destinations. The Queensbridge, N.Y. native previously had his hometown New York Knicks as his preferred choice his list of favorites, but he is now said to be more interested in joining the new-look Clippers while being able to avoid relocating. Both teams appear to have interest in adding World Peace, but would only be able to offer him a veteran's minimum contract of $1.4 million annually.

His list is also known to include – in order of favorites – the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers. With the Nets' signing of small forward Andrei Kirilenko on Wednesday, however, there is no longer a need for a quality backup behind small forward Paul Pierce in Brooklyn. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the process.

The amnesty clause was negotiated into the league's current collective bargaining agreement as a way to give teams financial relief from weighty contracts that were signed before the lockout that ended in Dec. 2011. The Lakers' luxury tax bill is already exorbitant, but would have been even moreso if they held onto World Peace because the tax rates increase significantly starting this season.

But if World Peace is, in fact, attempting to dissuade teams from taking advantage of this new system by picking him up, he wouldn't be the first to do so. After the New York Knicks amnestied point guard Chauncey Billups in Dec. 2011, he warned teams through the media that he wanted to become a free agent and join a contender rather than be claimed. The Clippers put in a winning bid for him anyway, and he became a valuable member of their rotation.