Lakers Rumors: Retired Point Guard Could Join LeBron James, Anthony Davis With Lakers

Former Indiana Pacers point guard Darren Collison could be making his way back to the NBA.

Golden State Warriors beat reporter Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that Collison could be eyeing a return to the NBA with either the Warriors or the Los Angeles Lakers.

“But nobody, in that brief of a glimpse, was comfortable predicting whether Collison would be anywhere near the player who averaged 11.2 points and 6.0 assists as a starting point guard on a Pacers team that made the 2019 playoffs,” wrote Slater.

“If he was, he’d be a slam dunk in that 15th spot. But if he is (or even if he isn’t), would he be willing to take a prove-it non-guaranteed camp invite? There’s also buzz [that] he might be eyeing a Lakers camp invite.”

The Lakers were doing their best to recruit Collison in February 2020 to the point that eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis was very much involved, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

The rumor mill has been relatively silent on Collison since his retirement in 2019 after deciding to focus on his faith.

However, it was reported last week that the former UCLA Bruin was seen at the Lakers training facility working out with Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn.

Should Collison make an NBA return with the Lakers, the LeBron James-led team would suddenly have a ton of playmakers at their disposal that they could play anytime.

Nunn, Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook are the Lakers’ assigned point guards for this season, and adding Collison to the mix gives them even more flexibility.

While not a flashy player himself, Collison has a great ability to find the open man and score with ease, even leading the league in three-point shooting for one season after shooting 46.8 percent on 1.4 makes over three attempts per game.