Metta World Peace 'inching closer' to 1-year contract with Lakers, according to report

Metta World Peace has continued working out at the Los Angeles Lakers' training facility in El Segundo and the veteran forward is "inching closer" to returning to the franchise on a one-year contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. It was previously reported that the Lakers were "seriously considering" bringing the veteran back, and the former champion has kept his presence around the organization in the meantime.

The Lakers have remained active in the offseason, acquiring additional talent to bring to Hawaii as part of their training camp roster. Marcelo Huertas is the latest player to be entered in the mix, providing the team with a veteran international point guard that can try to steady the bench behind D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson.

Training camp begins on Sep. 29, leaving plenty of time for the team to weigh their options on the final players they want to bring to Hawaii. A factor in this could be World Peace's relationship with Julius Randle, which the Lakers have liked the "impact" of, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.

If the Lakers are really interested in keeping Metta on board as a veteran and mentor for Julius, it seems likely they'll give him an opportunity to prove he can still contribute during training camp.