Los Angeles Lakers Rumors: According to sources, a motivating factor in signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was him having the same agent as LeBron James.
The offseason may be close to coming to an end, but Los Angeles Lakers rumors have picked up in recent days. With training camp right around the corner, there is a chance that the Lakers fill their final roster spot. Shabazz Muhammad has been mentioned as someone who could fill that spot.
Even with roster movement still a possibility this offseason, some attention is already being paid to next offseason. The 2018 Free Agent Class could be absolutely loaded. The crown jewel of the class will be LeBron James.
It has been rumored that James will be leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers next offseason. NBA executives took it a step further, saying the Lakers are his likeliest landing spot. That is what Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have been gearing up for since they took over the reigns of the Lakers front office.
Johnson and Pelinka have made their intentions clear. They want their youngster to play and did everything they could to not eat into future cap space. That is because the free agent class of 2018 is when they plan to make their big move and put the Lakers back on the map.
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles has missed the postseason for four consecutive years. That is the longest playoff drought in franchise history, and there is a good chance it reaches five. However, if things go according to plan, that streak will end following the 2018-19 season.
This is a strategy we have seen backfire plenty of times on NBA team. Look at the New York Knicks, who are in constant purgatory unable to convince big-named free agents to join their team. The Lakers, however, have a plan in place to successfully land some of the big fish next offseason and the plan was put into place this offseason.
The Lakers were not overly active in free agency this year. Their only signing was shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, formerly of the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers were offering one-year balloon contracts to players this summer, a strategy that cost them George Hill and Dion Waiters.
Caldwell-Pope accepted that balloon contract, agreeing to a one-year, $18 million deal. Caldwell-Pope was a good signing for the Lakers; his strengths were weaknesses for the team last season, namely three-point shooting and defense. However, there may have been some added motivation to landing a deal with Caldwell-Pope.
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers pursuit of Caldwell-Pope is directly tied to their hopeful pursuit of LeBron James. Caldwell-Pope and James share the same agent, Rich Paul. According to McMenamin, that was a motivating factor in signing Caldwell-Pope.
"Multiple league sources suggested to ESPN that a major motivating factor in the Lakers’ signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a one-year, $18 million deal this offseason was because Caldwell-Pope is repped by Rich Paul, the same agent as James.Now the Lakers can spend a year communicating with Paul, showing him how they run their organization, sharing meals, etc., and it will all be protected under the Caldwell-Pope prism, even if it could prove influential as to what James ultimately decides to do."
This is a big deal for the Lakers. The organization was just fined $500,000 for tampering charges. General Manager Rob Pelinka was found guilty of tampering for a conversation he had with Paul George‘s agent.
That was not the first time the Lakers were warned about tampering this offseason. Earlier in the offseason, Magic Johnson appeared on The Jimmy Kimmel show and discussed a hypothetical conversation with George.
It garnered a warning from the NBA, which in part led to the fine for Pelinka’s conversation. That is what makes the interactions with Paul now so important. Since he has a client with the Lakers, tampering chargers cannot be brought against the Lakers again; it would be extremely difficult to prove any wrong doing.
As a result, the Lakers will seemingly have a head start on anyone looking to woo James in free agency. The Lakers could have enough cap space for two max free agents, so James could possibly handpick a running mate to join him in Los Angeles.
Next: 3 Reasons Lakers Should Sign LeBron James
Depending on who he picks, the Lakers could have quite a strong nucleus with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Larry Nance Jr. already in place.