Lakers Rumors: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pushing for trade

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whose team is looking to get him traded.

Dec. 15 was always the date people had circled on their calendar for Los Angeles Lakers rumors to really pick up. They have not been disappointed, as Lakers rumors have certainly picked up with that date now upon us.

Dec. 15 is important because it is the first day that players who signed free-agent deals this past summer can be included in trades. Los Angeles has a number of players that fall under this category in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee.

All of those players were signed to one-year deals with an eye toward the future. If the Lakers needed to match salaries in a trade, they could use those expiring deals. Los Angeles has been involved in some trade rumors already involving Trevor Ariza of the Phoenix Suns.

Ariza, like the Lakers quintet mentioned above, couldn’t be dealt until Dec. 15. In the team’s trade talks for Ariza, Caldwell-Pope was the name most associated with him.

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However, the Suns had no interest in acquiring Caldwell-Pope. If the Lakers were to acquire Ariza, a third team was going to be needed. One team that emerged as a possible landing spot for Caldwell-Pope was the Houston Rockets.

It would be tough to imagine the Lakers helping out a team they will be directly competing against in the Western Conference. However, it sounds like they are trying to do good by Caldwell-Pope.

According to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times, it is actually Caldwell-Pope’s team that is looking to get a deal done.

"While sources confirmed that there have been discussions about trading Caldwell-Pope, the legwork is being done on Caldwell-Pope’s side to find him a better situation."

Caldwell-Pope is playing the fewest minutes per game since his rookie season. His stats are down across the board this season after a career season in 2017-18. A change of scenery could do KCP some good and help him get back to the level of performance he was showcasing last season.

In addition to a bigger role, Caldwell-Pope being traded would help him monetarily. If he is dealt on Dec. 15, he will receive over $1.1 million dollars. Every day he remains on the Lakers, that total decreases by $10,169.

Working alongside Caldwell-Pope’s team is in the best interest of the Lakers. Signing him prior to the 2017-18 season gave them a legal avenue to LeBron James, who shares an agent with Caldwell-Pope.

That is a relationship that the Lakers need to keep working on and keep positive. Want to take a guess at who Rich Paul began representing at the beginning of this season? Anthony Davis.

You can be sure that this is a relationship the Lakers want to keep as a positive one. If Caldwell-Pope wishes to be traded, you can be sure Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka will do everything in their power to get a deal done.