Los Angeles Lakers: Reason to consider Brandon Ingram, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope trade

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope:

KCP’s case is much more cut-and-dry than Ingram’s. KCP is on a one-year deal and I doubt he’s going to get re-signed next year. KCP is a very talented player who’s capable of being a great defender, but this year’s he’s not interested in buckling down on D.

KCP is playing for his next contract and he knows that he has to score points in order to get paid next year. KCP’s 3-point shooting is coming around, and he’s been looking good on offense. With that said, he’s clearly saving energy on defense, so that he can get his offensive number up. KCP’s last among all the Lakers rotation players in Defensive Rating and in Defensive Box Plus Minus.

There’s no doubt that KCP is much more worried about what kind of contract he’s going to get next year than helping the Lakers win this year.

It’s incredibly difficult for any team to win an NBA championship, but it’s impossible to win a title if even one key player on a squad doesn’t know his role and play for his team. Ingram and KCP have been putting their own desires over the needs of the Lakers.

I hope the Lakers find a trade partner for KCP, so he can worry about his next contract on another team. I’ve already gone on record saying the Lakers shouldn’t trade Ingram,

"Los Angeles Lakers better not trade Brandon Ingram"

However, I now believe there is one exception to that: If Ingram can’t show that he’s willing to sacrifice his own numbers for the good of the team, I wouldn’t mind if the Lakers front office traded him.