Free agent point guard Darren Collison is joining the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers‘ G League affiliate, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Charania notes that South Bay is currently the second seed, and that the addition of Collison could help the club make a postseason push. According to Charania, Collison is also hoping to make an impression on NBA clubs in the hopes of earning a call-up.
Collison, 34, initially retired in the 2019 offseason but returned this year on a 10-day hardship contract with the Lakers. In 12.3 MPG across three games with Los Angeles, Collison looked rusty, to say the least. The 6’0″ guard averaged 1.3 PPG on 28.6% field goal shooting, plus 1.3 RPG and 0.7 APG.
He holds career averages of 12.5 PPG, 5.0 APG and 2.7 RPG in 711 career NBA games, with a .471/.394/.853 shooting line.
Signing with South Bay represents something of a homecoming for Collison. A native of the Southern California suburb of Rancho Cucamonga, Collison was selected with the No. 21 pick out of UCLA by the then-New Orleans Hornets in 2009. In 10 NBA seasons prior to his first retirement, he also suited up for the Pacers in two separate stints, the Mavericks, Clippers, and Kings.
probably should never have left the league… way way harder to get back in once you bounce.
He had family stuff to work through. It was more important to him at that point in his career to step away. He had made a good amount of money already. He’s not coming back because he’s broke. It’s because he loves the game.
you would know!
He’s looking at min contract or 10-days. He could have been on a multi-year deal. He was a quality PG when he retired and at 31 vs 34 its def way harder to get back and stick in the league at his age.
Come on bro, you made the right decision when you retired, don’t overthink it, keep it simple!
Actually, if he’s serious about this which it sounds like he is, and can get back to where he was 2 years ago, he could easily make himself a useful rotational piece in the NBA next season. He was a decent player. Led the league in 3pt % in 2017-18. It’s a long shot but it would make a good story.
He’d fit right in with the rest of the geriatric Laker team