Los Angeles Lakers guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope recently commented on his competition with Josh Hart.
One of the main competitions heading into camp for the Los Angeles Lakers was who would be the starting shooting guard. Last season, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the starter most of the time for the Lakers, and he performed very well.
However, the Lakers have an emerging young talent in Josh Hart, who is hungry to prove himself in the NBA. Starting in the second half of last season, Hart really began to show what he can do on the basketball court.
After a great career at Villanova, Hart showed that he was capable of being more than just a three-and-D player in the NBA. This summer, Hart was the star of the Las Vegas Summer League, as he took home MVP honors.
With Hart clearly improving as a player, that has put KCP’s starting spot up for grabs. Despite being challenged by Hart, KCP is welcoming the competition that is coming his way. He believes that the competition between the two is only making them both better, which will obviously help the Lakers. Here’s was KCP said via Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times.
"“We make each other work in practice,” Caldwell-Pope said late Saturday night after the Lakers lost to the Clippers in an exhibition game at the Honda Center. “We’re always on the opposite team. Even if we’re on the same team, we both run the floor, we both do similar things.“We both compete. We give that competitiveness from both of us. It’s a fight. We enjoy it. We’re just making each other better.”"
So far in the preseason, it has been Hart who seems to be the favorite to take the starting job. Hart is really playing well on both ends of the court and he seems like he is ready to become the starter.
If that does end up being the case, having KCP coming off the bench is certainly a good problem to have for the Lakers. KCP is a proven defender and can shoot the ball well from behind the arc. With Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball likely leading the second unit to start the season, KCP can fit in really nicely with them as a weapon in transition.
While nothing is set in stone yet, the competition between Hart and KCP will be something to watch in the final few preseason games for the Lakers. Even though one of them will become the starter, the other will still have a significant role off the bench.