Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is one of many Lakers who will become a free agent at the end of the season. The decision whether to re-sign KCP is not an easy or obvious one.
The Los Angeles Lakers did not sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the manner many free agents are acquired. KCP became available due to a unique set of circumstances.
When the Celtics signed Gordon Hayward last July, they had to create salary space by moving other players. So they traded guard Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons, who then opted not to exercise their option on Caldwell-Pope.
That made Caldwell-Pope an unrestricted free agent fairly late in the signing season. He had begun the offseason as a restricted free agent. The Lakers then gladly scooped up KCP, signing him to a lucrative one-year $18 million contract.
The 6’5″ 25-year-old has had a solid season, averaging 13.5 points (5th on a Lakers team that has six players scoring between 13 and 16 points per game), 2.2 assists (5th) and 1.6 steals (2nd), while setting career highs in rebounding (5.5- 4th on the team) and 3-point shooting (38.5%, tops among starters). Just as importantly, in a year in which the Lakers have emphasized defense, KCP has remained one of the league’s best defensive guards.
He also appears to be one of head coach Luke Walton’s favorite players. His minutes are just a tick behind team leaders Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. And Walton frequently sets up shots for him off screens during time-outs.
So the Lakers have a starting 2-guard who is an excellent defender, a good but not outstanding 3-point shooter, a willing passer and by all accounts a fine teammate. On the surface, it seems that re-signing him would seem to be a priority. Yet, of course, the situation is far more complicated.
The primary consideration involves the matter of money. KCP’s agent has said that his client will seek a maximum contract. Fans may not realize that max contracts are NOT all created equal. The maximum amount varies depending on a player’s years of experience, ranging from 25-35 percent of the team’s salary cap.
Caldwell-Pope is completing his fifth NBA season, so he would be at the low end of the max contract scale. Even so, that would still translate to about a $25 million first-year salary.
It is well-known that the Lakers plan to pursue elite free agents Paul George and/or LeBron James this July (if either doesn’t re-sign with his current team), or other stars a year from now. Los Angeles could also re-sign Julius Randle. So they may not want to commit additional heavy dollars on a long-term deal for KCP.
That might be even more of a consideration when the team looks at the future. The Lakers will ultimately be faced with re-signing Ingram in 2020 and both Ball and Kyle Kuzma when their rookie deals expire a year later. Doing so will bloat the team’s payroll ever higher. The Buss family seems to be quite willing to exceed the salary cap if they have a contending team, but there must be some limit about how much they’ll be willing to spend.
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There’s also a somewhat non-monetary factor by the name of Josh Hart, who was extremely impressive in the month before he fractured a bone in his left hand. Perhaps coaches and management believe he can play much the same role as KCP at a far lower salary.
Hart is signed for 2018-19 for just $1.65 million, and is also under club control for the following two seasons for very reasonable amounts. So the Lakers just might have a built-in replacement already on the roster.
Does all this mean that it’s time to bid farewell to KCP? Well, not exactly. There is still a chance that he’ll remain a Laker. Here’s how.
1.) There’s a difference between wanting a max contract and finding a team willing to give you one. Early word is that teams will not be freely spending money this summer. It remains to be seen if any team steps up to the plate for a very good but not great player like KCP.
2.) KCP hasn’t said anything publicly about how comfortable he is with the Lakers. There’s at least a chance that he’s very happy, wants to continue to wear the purple and gold, and would be willing to settle for less money to stay in L.A. Most players follow the money, but there are always a few exceptions.
3.) What if the Lakers don’t sign either George or James? Despite what fans want, that is a distinct possibility. Each may opt to stay put, perhaps depending on how their respective teams perform in this year’s playoffs. Then, even if the Lakers do re-sign Randle, they would still have plenty of remaining cap space.
Here’s what all that means. If the Lakers fail to sign a top-flight free agent this summer, and if no other team offers KCP an attractive long-term deal, it is feasible that they’d re-sign him to a new one-year deal. That probably won’t happen, but it is at least possible. Oddly enough, the exact same logic applies to possibly re-signing another Laker free-agent-to-be, Isaiah Thomas.
The prospective starting lineup would then be Ball, Caldwell-Pope (or Thomas), Ingram, Randle and a center to be determined, with Kuzma and Hart playing ample minutes off the bench. While none of the players are at the level superstar, at least not yet, their collective talent level is extremely high, at least enough to contend for the playoffs next year.
What do you think? Should the Lakers consider re-signing KCP (or for that matter IT), to a short-term or long-term contract, or should they forget about them and focus elsewhere?
Next: 10 Greatest Free Agent Signings In Lakers History
Note: All player statistics courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com