Los Angeles Lakers Rumors: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was signed by the team after his agent, Rich Paul, reached out to the team.
Los Angeles Lakers rumors have quieted down recently. With July coming to an end, free agency is winding down. July saw plenty of player movement in the NBA, as there are a number of new players that will have new addresses.
Whether it be via trades or free agency, a number of players are joining new teams for the 2017-18 season. We saw a number of high-level players, such as Jimmy Butler and Paul George, traded. There was a ton of money handed out in free agency again, but the Lakers were relatively quiet.
The Lakers did much of their roster overhaul prior to and during the 2017 NBA Draft. Before the draft, they traded D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the draft. Los Angeles also traded the 28th pick to the Utah Jazz for No. 30 and No. 42.
All in all, the Lakers made four selections in the 2017 NBA Draft. UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball was selected second. Utah power forward, Kyle Kuzma, was picked with the 27th pick. Villanova shooting guard, Josh Hart, was selected 30th and Indiana center, Thomas Bryant, was picked 42nd.
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With so many selections made and an eye towards free agency in 2018, the Lakers were quiet during free agency. Los Angeles was looking to sign players to one-year balloon deals to not eat into their future cap space. As a result, many players declined for long-term deals. But, they did make one big move as they took advantage of the market.
The Lakers signed shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a one-year, $18 million deal. The Lakers took full advantage of how the market fell.
Caldwell-Pope began the offseason as a restricted free agent. As a restricted free agent, Caldwell-Pope could have any offer sheet he signed matched by his original team, the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons offered Caldwell-Pope a five-year, $80 million deal but he declined.
The Pistons decided to wait out Caldwell-Pope, who was hoping to land a max deal. That max deal never came as the Pistons made other moves to shore up shooting guard. They selected Luke Kennard with the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and then signed Langston Galloway. They would also acquire Avery Bradley from the Boston Celtics for Marcus Morris, lessening the need for Caldwell-Pope.
With the shooting guard spot full, the Pistons renounced Caldwell-Pope’s rights, making him an unrestricted free agent. But, it was late in free agency, so there weren’t many offers coming his way. The Lakers took full advantage of the situation, landing Caldwell-Pope on a great deal for both sides.
It has been revealed that the Lakers were pushed towards Caldwell-Pope by his agent, Rich Paul. Paul is a big name in basketball circles, as he is the agent for LeBron James, someone the Lakers have their eyes on for next season. There are plenty of reasons of to sign James, so having a good rapport with his agent before he hits free agency is a good idea.
President of Basketball Operations, Magic Johnson, said that Paul called the Lakers about Caldwell-Pope knowing that they wanted to keep their cap space as open as possible in 2018.
"“Rich had called us with a possibility he would consider us for a one-year deal,” Magic Johnson said. “Rob and I really started watching film and we were just blown away. … I wanted somebody mean and tough that we could count on to get that big stop for us.”"
Caldwell-Pope is a great fit for the Lakers. His strengths, three-point shooting and defense, were two major weaknesses for the Lakers last season.
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Caldwell-Pope will help take a lot of pressure off the young Lakers on the team given his skill set. With the chance to hit free agency again next year, you know Caldwell-Pope will be motivated to perform. Paul did a great job putting Caldwell-Pope in a position to succeed and the Lakers are hoping he is not the last Paul client they are able to land.