Delonte West may be going Hollywood.
The 28-year-old free agent spent time during the lockout working on a self-produced reality show. Now, according to a knowledgeable source, the guard is entertaining calls from the Los Angeles Lakers.
If he were to sign with L.A., West, who spent the 2010-11 season with the Boston Celtics, would be reunited with Coach Mike Brown, who was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when West played there from 2008-10.
“I love Mike Brown,” West told SLAM when we spent time with him this past summer. “I mean, he’s a great guy. Too good. what else can you ask from a coach? He tried to do everything to keep everybody happy, keep the personalities happy [in Cleveland].”
Meanwhile, according to the same source, the Boston Celtics did not contact West on the first day that teams were allowed to reach out to players directly (though they have reached out to his representatives).
The combo-guard averaged 5.6 ppg and 2.7 apg in 24 games during an injury-riddled ’10-11 season for the Celtics. He upped that to 6.6 ppg in the Playoffs, including five straight double-figure scoring games against the Miami Heat in the Conference Semifinals.
West did his best during the lockout to address his tarnished image. Now he’d like a chance to do the same on the court.
“I know that any team that gets me next year will be making a great pickup,” West told SLAM this past summer. “I still have a chip on my shoulder, one, because I feel that I haven’t be compensated like the players I’m competing against; I can’t wait to show them that I deserve something. And, two, I got a chip on my shoulder because I just do. That’s how I live life.”
