Los Angeles Lakers: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will fill all necessary gaps
The Los Angeles Lakers and free-agent guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, have agreed to a one-year deal, worth $18 million.
It has certainly been a quiet free-agency period for the Los Angeles Lakers front office. The right move was certainly to stay put, saving an abundance of cap room for the 2018 NBA offseason. In which the Lakers will attempt to potentially reel in the likes of forward, Paul George and/or 3-time NBA Champion, LeBron James.
With that being said, the Lakers did, in fact, come to terms with free agent guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Though previous free-agent targets clearly weren’t budging on a one-year contract, Caldwell-Pope’s deal is worth a reported $18M for just one-year, which will surely benefit the Los Angeles Lakers blueprint along with bolstering their defense and scoring options throughout next season.
While suiting up for the Detroit Pistons during the 2016/2017 season, Caldwell-Pope tallied 13.8 points per game, shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arch. As well as scoring a career-high 38 points against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Nevertheless, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a relatively unknown amongst most fan-bases. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old guard can simply contribute in more ways than one.
The Lakers were in dire need of a defensive player who could also score on the wing, providing instant offense when needed. However, Caldwell-Pope’s defense is a definite strength of his, locking down the league’s top guard’s as a result of his agility and athleticism. Whether he is given a starting position or a sixth-man role off the bench, his contributions will unquestionably be of value.
To have a player of Caldwell-Pope’s caliber now legitimizes Magic Johnson’s and Rob Pelinka’s direction. Establishing, multiple scoring options within the team while not spending on long-term contracts.
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He should certainly mesh with Luke Walton’s system and youthful roster, which will more than likely speed up the acclimation process. Only time will tell, but I’m expecting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to be an absolute impact player on the floor.