Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a good move

3. Other Skills

KCP has value in several other ways, and to some degree fell under the radar in his only Lakers season last year.

He is not by any means simply a “3-and-D” player. He handles the ball well, is reasonably athletic and is a good finisher at the rim. His effective shooting percentage last year was 52.6 percent, a strong number for his position.

He may be approaching his offensive peak, but even so, he’s a consistent double-figure scorer who has averaged between 12.7 and 14.5 points per game over the last four years. The Lakers have plenty of other scorers, so they won’t need him to put up big numbers, but he can and probably will tally 20 or more points on many occasions.

KCP is approaching veteran status based on his five years of NBA experience, but at age 25, is still young enough to adapt. He’s sufficiently versatile to slide over to play some small forward in certain lineups. He’s well-liked by his teammates, gets along just fine with the Lakers youthful core, and doesn’t allow his ego to get in his way.

He has also proven to be extremely durable, having played in 95 percent of his team’s games over his five NBA years. He’s been a starter in virtually every game he’s played since midway in his rookie year. And over the last four years, he’s averaged about 33 minutes per game.