Lakers Rumors: Darren Collison didn’t consider coming out of retirement

Recent Lakers rumors have been about Darren Collison’s decision to stay retired this season after a lot of chatter about him coming back.

As the Lakers prepare for the playoffs soon, recent Lakers rumors have been about one of the players that they reportedly went hard after this season.

For the Lakers, one of the issues for them most of the season has been playmaking from the point guard position. LeBron James has really embraced being the primary ball-handler for the Lakers, but there hasn’t been consistent production from anyone when he is off the court.

While James plays a lot of minutes, the Lakers have noticeably struggled when he sits. Before the trade deadline and during the buyout period, the Lakers reportedly tried to address this by getting Darren Collison to come out of retirement.

Collison shocked many when he decided to retire last offseason, despite being in the market for a multi-million-dollar contract. However, when teams like the Lakers reportedly came calling, it looked like Collison was going to come out of retirement.

Over the course of his career, Collison has been a very solid player, as he is averaging 12.5 points and 5.0 assists per game. As a player that has a lot of experience in the playoffs as well, Collison would have been a good addition for the Lakers.

Recently, Collison spoke on the Minute til 6 Podcast about whether or he considered to come back this season. Here’s what he had with text via Silver Screen and Roll.

"“I mean to be completely 100, they overhyped the whole thing. I wasn’t even thinking about coming back. I actually just came to the game to watch one of my good friends that was playing for Houston, Russ, he was playing against the Lakers at the time. I just wanted to come watch the game as a fan… When I went, it just so happened that they made this hoopla about me trying to play for the Lakers, they made it a big deal, but there was not one time where I was thinking about coming back because mentally, I just wasn’t in that right frame of mind. I’m still trying to work some things out in my life and help the youth out too. So I almost feel like after this season, yeah I’ll assess everything else, but this season I never thought about coming back.”"

Seeing this from Collison is surprising. By all accounts, it looked like Collison was certainly at least considering a comeback.

The Lakers certainly could use a player like Collison on the roster, as they are down two-point guards in Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo. While Collison might not be playing this season, it certainly seems like a return next season is a possibility.