Report: UCLA Alum Darren Collison to Sign 10-Day Contract With Los Angeles Lakers
After years of rumors, a former Bruin guard is set to return from retirement and play with a former teammate in the Association.
Retiring from the NBA in 2019, Collison had been rumored to re-enter the professional ranks during the past two seasons, and now he will finally will. ESPN senior insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday morning that Collison plans to sign a 10-day hardship contract with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside former Arizona forward Stanley Johnson.
The move will pair Collison up with Russell Westbrook, bringing UCLA men's basketball's starting backcourt from the 2007-2008 season back together again.
Playing for UCLA from 2005 to 2009, Collison helped lead the blue and gold to three NCAA Final Four berths in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Westbrook was part of two of those teams as well, and another Bruin who predated them – forward Trevor Ariza – is also now on the Lakers.
Before his aforementioned retirement in 2019, Collison was still a high-level role player within the NBA ranks and was being courted by multiple teams when he called it quits.
In the 2017-2018 season, Collison posted the best 3-point shooting marks in his career and in the entire NBA, shooting 47% from behind the arc with the Indiana Pacers. Then, in the following season, Collison saw his points per game and shooting percentage sip slightly.
During his 10-year pro career, Collison averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on 47% shooting from the field. At UCLA, Collison averaged 11.5 points and 4.1 assists per game en route to two Third Team All-American nods and two First Team All-Pac-12 appearances.
Collison went No. 21 overall to the New Orleans Hornets in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Now returning to the NBA, Collison will only be guaranteed the 10-day contract, but it is still possible the UCLA alumnus could receive an extension of sorts to continue playing at the newly-rebranded Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers currently have multiple players in COVID-19 protocols, including Ariza, Austin Reaves, Malik Monk, Avery Bradley and Kent Bazemore.
Collison should fill a bench role for the Lakers as a shooter in the second unit, and he could rekindle some of the chemistry he shared with Westbrook when the two wore “UCLA” across their chests.
Wojnarowski also stated that the Lakers are planning for Collison to be able to appear starting Saturday with the Christmas Day matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.
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