Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
I’d like to start with KCP, because his 2017-2018 $18 million contract and his 2018-2019 $12 million contract has been a recent talking point throughout many Lakers message boards.
During the summer of 2017, after the Lakers signed KCP to his 1-year, $18 million contract, almost every member of the media dubbed the deal a huge success and a major victory for Magic and Pelinka.
Here are a few quotes about the KCP signing:
Brian Windhorst from ESPN said this:
"“It’s a coup for the Lakers, who made landing a difference-making player such as Caldwell-Pope a priority with their remaining cap space, while also preserving flexibility for next summer.”"
Joey Ramirez from NBA.com said this:
"“The 6-foot-5, 205-pound shooting guard comes to Los Angeles with a reputation as a bulldog defender who plays at maximum effort and is capable of guarding opponents well both on and off the ball. Consistently ranking among the top of the NBA in minutes played, Caldwell-Pope has also been applauded for his physical conditioning that allows him to continue when others fatigue.”"
Rob Pelinka, from the Lakers, said this:
"”I would venture to guess there’s people in the room that are familiar with the stories in the Book of Genesis, where there was a time when the Israelites were wandering in the desert and all the sudden bread came down from heaven. That’s kind of what today feels like for us to have KCP join.”"
After the Lakers signed KCP back in 2017, it’s as if everyone involved with the NBA forgot to actually look at Caldwell-Pope’s statistics. During his final season in Detroit, KCP averaged 13.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, to go along with a mediocre Defensive Rating of 109 and a Defensive Box Plus/Minus of 0.
During KCP’s first season as a Laker, he basically matched his stats from his final year in Detroit, which means he played like an average shooting guard in the NBA. Then, during this past offseason, Magic and Pelinka brought him back again on a 1-year contract at $12 million.
It’s been easy to see that this year KCP has not been worth anywhere near the amount of money he’s making. He’s shooting 34% from downtown and has an atrocious 112 DEFRTG.
KCP’s play and the dollar amount of his current contract has led many fans to wonder if the reason Magic and Pelinka re-signed KCP this past offseason was because he’s a client of Klutch Sports, which is run by LeBron James’ best friend, Rich Paul.
The idea running through many Lakers message boards is that Rich Paul told Magic and Pelinka that if they wanted to sign LeBron, they also had to sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope because he’s a member of Klutch Sports.
Let me squash the idea that Magic and Pelinka were “forced” to sign KCP to an egregious $12 million contract in order for LeBron to come to LA.
Look at these facts:
- According to www.forbes.com Rich Paul is worth $25 million.
- According to NBA league rules, sports agents who represent NBA players can only receive a 3% commission on their client’s contract deals.
- KCP signed a $12 million, 1-year contract, which means his agent Rich Paul made $360,000 off of the Caldwell-Pope deal with the Lakers.
It’s crazy to think that the grease that moved the LeBron James wheel to come to Los Angeles was $360,000, especially considering Rich Paul is worth more than 50 times that amount of money.
Here’s what I think really happened: Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka liked the way KCP played during the 2017-2018 season. They understood he wasn’t worth the $18 million they gave him during his first year in LA, so they lowered his current contract down to $12 million.
I’m sure that “Maginka” understood that KCP was a career 34% 3-point shooter and that he was a mediocre defender at best, but they probably figured that his shots from beyond the arc would fall with more regularity playing next to LeBron, who’s one of the best passers of all time. They also probably thought he’d step it up on D, with James holding him accountable. Magic and Pelinka were wrong.
I think KCP’s deal would have looked much better if he’d been a starter this season. I’m sure Caldwell-Pope went into this year believing he was a lock to start at shooting guard and when Hart took over his starting duties after the 3rd game of the season it just broke KCP’s basketball heart, and he hasn’t been the same since.