NBA: Darren Collison Blames Media Hype For Sensationalizing Return With Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers may have clinched the top seed but it remains that they are shorthanded in the point guard position. Darren Collison, someone who was linked to possibly coming out of retirement earlier this year, revealed that he had no plans of playing at all this NBA season.

Appearing at the "Minute Til 6" podcast, the 32-year-old guard set the records straight. He says media overhyped the whole thing and that most made something out of his appearance during a Lakers game in February.

t that time, he was seated beside Jeanie Buss and pundits tried to make something out of it. Most saw it as a sign that the 6-foot guard was coming out of retirement, a timely suggestion considering the purple and gold needed a point guard.

Collison explained that he was there to watch the game to watch his friend Russell Westbrook. He was there as a fan and nothing else.

“When I went, it just so happened that they made this hoopla about me trying to play for the Lakers…but there was not one time was I thinking about coming back because mentally I was just wasn’t in that right frame of mind,” Collison said.

Aside from that, he also informed Harrison Barnes via text that he was 50-50 about a possible return at that time. To cut it short, he was not ready to return to NBA action as he tries to work some things out in his life and help the youth.

Before the start of the NBA bubble, Collison also revealed that several teams contacted his agent about a possible return. Similar to the speculations of a return in February, the former UCLA standout was still not ready to do so.

With Bradley sitting out and Rajon Rondo in the sidelines due to a thumb injury, Collison would have been a perfect complement to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Head coach Frank Vogel will just have to improvise and find alternatives at this juncture.

It also remains to be seen if Collison will have a change of heart once the NBA offseason comes around. His decision to retire in 2019 caught most by surprise but critics feel he could make a return. If he does, the question now is will that be with the Lakers or some other NBA team.