What once seemed like a late August part fun rumor, part feel good story which wasn’t likely to happen, now seems to have more legs. Could it be the Lakers may really sign Metta World Peace? According to Adrian Wojnarowski, they are getting closer:

Yahoo Sources: Metta World Peace has begun to work out daily at Lakers’ facility, inching closer to a return to franchise on one-year deal. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) September 9, 2015

As I noted when I wrote about the initial reports of the Lakers’ interest in Metta, I did not think he was a particularly good fit. From a roster construction and position crunch standpoint, his addition would seem to be redundant. However, that perspective was shaped mostly by what Ron might provide on the court. Eric Pincus of the LA Times has a different perspective:

This is about Julius Randle folks . . . a teammate can mentor differently than a coach https://t.co/CgjyfrCnav — Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) September 9, 2015

Metta and Randle have been spending a lot of time in the gym together – Lakers like the relationship/impact thus from from MWP — Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) September 9, 2015

It should be clarified, Pincus isn’t issuing an opinions on whether this reasoning is sound, he’s simply reporting what he understands the Lakers’ interest in Ron to be rooted in. Still, it’s an interesting angle worth exploring further and, at least, gives more background for a decision than simply how the player fits into the team from a can he/can’t he still play.

The counter argument against the above is, of course, why do the Lakers need another veteran to provide this type of mentoring to Randle? The team already has Kobe and just signed Hibbert and Bass. Kobe has already taken Randle under his wing after the latter broke his leg last year. Bass, meanwhile, plays the same position as Julius and has also said he is coming in to help the team in anyway possible — including by being a resource for the young players. Hibbert, too, can offer some of the same guidance.

Is an additional player really needed for this? Should the Lakers provide a roster spot to an aging player with no future on the team and do so at the expense, potentially, of a young player who might? These are hypotheticals only, but would you rather have Ron or Tarik Black? Ron or Jabari Brown? Ron or Robert Upshaw? We don’t know if this is what it would come down to, but it’s certainly possible this would be the case.

I really don’t have a definitive answer to any of the above questions.

I see value in having a player like Ron mentor Randle. The former built a career on being a fantastic two way player who thrived defensively against some of the best players of his generation. If he could impart some of that wisdom via mentoring in practices, on the bench, and through spirited competition, that is worth something. Whether it would be worth more than investing in a young player who may not have that same experience to impart, but could have more game to offer on the floor next year (and, potentially, beyond) also has some value.

Of course, this is a lot of speculation for something that hasn’t even happened yet. The player isn’t even signed and, even if he were to become signed we don’t know to what kind of deal or how the Lakers would set up the competition for a roster spot in camp. Still, it’s an interesting discussion to have.