With an unexpected twist in free agency shooting guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope became available when no one saw it coming. The Los Angeles Lakers jumped at the opportunity to add such a talented player to a revamped roster full of hopes for the future of the franchise.
The Los Angeles Lakers were unusually quiet during this past free agency. Contrary to the buzz the 16-time NBA champion team tends to generate, they were not linked to big free agents and their name came up only a few times in relation to low-tier players.
Rather, they curiously made the headlines the whole summer regarding 2018 free agents, with rumors of Paul George and LeBron James allegedly joining L.A., and the tampering accusation deriving from the ‘George drama’.
Realistic or not, the chance of putting up such star power is the reason that kept them away from long-term contract discussions in order to preserve cap space for next year.
Rob Pelinka had already scored a home run for this year managing to dump Mozgov’s massive contract in a trade that brought Brook Lopez to L.A., but the consequential loss of D’Angelo Russell in the trade and the departure of Nick Young left the Lakers in need of a starting shooting guard.
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Despite a free agent class full of ‘not-too-good but not-that-bad’ 2-guards who would have responded to Lakers’ necessity of signing on one-year deals, they played the waiting game and their patience paid off.
One week into free agency, when all major names were long gone, the Detroit Pistons unexpectedly parted ways with restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He was once considered untouchable and a cornerstone of the franchise.
The Pistons were unwilling to meet his asking price for a new contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. They renounced their rights rescinding the qualifying offer after obtaining Avery Bradley in a trade with the Boston Celtics, making him an unrestricted free agent
At that point, most teams had already used their cap and did not have money left to offer him the multi-year contract he was seeking.
Caldwell-Pope checked every box of Lakers’ list, so they jumped out with an unusual one-year, $18 million offer which would give him the opportunity to play for a team that grants him the necessary space and exposure to prove his worth and hit free agency next year in search of the max-contract he is looking for.
So, without further ado, let’s see what made him such a good signing for the Lakers. Here are four reasons the Lakers signing Caldwell-Pope was a smart move.