Previous Lakers Free Agent Target Seen Courtside at Playoff Game

Darren Collison was linked with the Los Angeles Lakers last season. Several NBA analysts thought that Rob Pelinka would do his best to get the player. The veteran point guard comes from Southern California and he played college ball at UCLA. Collison retired from the league prior to last season. He was 31. The Lakers could have signed the free agent.

There was a huge speculation suggesting that one of the Los Angeles teams could lure Collison out of retirement. It was just smoke. Collison decided to stay retired and didn’t like the idea of going back to the floor. Well, Collison attended the Lakers’ Game 3 against the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center.

It’s interesting to note that Collison never played for the purple and gold. Why would he attend their game? In 2020, he attended a game and had dinner with Jeanie Buss. We all know what that means. There was so much speculation that Collison would sign with the team. This didn’t happen and the former player just wanted to attend the game.

The Lakers didn’t get the free agent

Collision is 33. He has a few seasons left in the tank. He took two years off and maybe he still wants to play basketball. A lot of teams would be interested in getting him. But, the former player didn’t say much about this. He didn’t say much about his future plans. So, no, he is not coming back.

“To keep it 100, they overhyped the whole thing,” Collison said on the Minute Til 6 podcast. “Like, I wasn’t even thinking about coming back.”

“I just wanted to come watch the game as a fan.”

The Lakers could really use some help at the moment. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy, but they could use an extra hand right now. AD suffered an injury in Game 3. Hopefully, it won’t happen again. That’s why the Lakers need a backup plan.

The team will have Game 4 on Sunday and Davis won’t miss any time. He has two days to rest and get ready for the next game.