LOS ANGELES _ As the third quarter wound down in the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Houston Rockets, the video board at Staples Center fixed on a guest sitting two seats away from team co-owner Jeanie Buss.
It was Darren Collison.
The point guard and UCLA alumnus retired last summer, but he's considering a return to the NBA with the Lakers as a possible destination. When the screen overhead showed Collison, he and Buss both playfully put their hoods up over their heads. As the camera lingered on Collison, he shifted his eyes as if he were uncomfortable with the spotlight.
The crowd cheered for him.
On the court, Collison's college teammate Russell Westbrook scored 41 points to help lead the Rockets to a double-digit win over the Lakers 121-111. The loss dropped the Lakers to 38-12 while the Rockets improved to 33-18.
The trade deadline passed without the Lakers making any deals, but that doesn't mean their roster won't change. They plan to monitor the buyout market. Of course, as a retired player, Collison isn't part of the buyout market. In order to sign Collison, the Lakers would have to waive one of their current players as their roster sits at 15.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 32 points and 13 rebounds, while LeBron James contributed 18 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds. Avery Bradley and Danny Green each scored 15 points.
They had been involved in conversations about two of the marquee players who moved this week _ Marcus Morris, whom the New York Knicks traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Andre Iguodala, whom the Memphis Grizzlies traded to the Miami Heat. The Lakers didn't have many assets to offer other than players, having traded away so many draft picks to acquire Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. And while their players were attractive to other teams, the Lakers opted not to make significant changes to their roster.
They faced a team in Houston that did make dramatic moves.
The Rockets had traded away their center, Clint Capela, and then traded Jordan Bell, who might have filled in at the position for them. The 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker became their starting center and even joked about it on social media, posting a photo of himself wearing stilts.
"We're not very tall, but we're strapped and we're strong," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said before the game. "I think we're just taking advantage of what we have. And like I said, there will be some drawbacks, and we'll have to adjust."
Against the Lakers, their experiment worked. While the Rockets were outscored in the paint by 22 points, they made 10 more three-pointers than the Lakers did. The game remained close for a while, with the Rockets pulling away in the game's final minutes.
Collison left when Buss did and downplayed his visit.
"Just watching the game," he told ESPN as he left the building. "Ain't nothing to it."
.png?w=600)
