Los Angeles Lakers: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a safe option for Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers need to fill out their roster and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope presents a safe option.
Sometimes familiarity is the route for the Los Angeles Lakers to take. One safe option for the Lakers is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Caldwell-Pope has spent the last two years in LA. After all, he is a Klutch Sports client and appears to enjoy playing alongside LeBron James. One thing we do know is that Rob Pelinka seems to love him.
The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the waiting game for Kawhi Leonard. Los Angeles turned down the opportunity to go after some big names on Sunday as they had their eyes set on bringing Kawhi back to his hometown.
Players are being taken off the board by the second. The Lakers already lost Reggie Bullock, who signed with New York.
Caldwell-Pope is an intriguing move for a variety of reasons. He is a lot younger than most veterans on the market. He is 25-years-old and is in the prime of his career. The second is that he can shoot the ball, and defend a variety of guards.
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Unlike most shooters on the market such as Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith, Caldwell-Pope can do a variety of things. He can create a bit better off the bounce, defend (as I mentioned before), and has some foot speed.
After a solid 2017-18 season for the Lakers, Caldwell-Pope had his ups-and-downs like most of his teammates this past season. The wing averaged 11.4 points in 24.8 minutes on 35 percent from 3-point range.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 33 minutes in his first year in LA. To be fair, his minutes decreased by a substantial amount. The reality is, he averaged more points per minute this season. Had he played 33 minutes like his first season here, he’d average around 15 points.
One thing to keep an eye on is that he ended the season on a really high note. He averaged 21.4 points on 37 percent from three-point distance. He simply appeared more comfortable when he knew he was going to get starter minutes.
With Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart all gone, there are plenty of minutes to go around. There is a realistic chance he can even start at shooting guard. The Lakers only have five players on their roster at the moment. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Troy Daniels, and Talen Horton-Tucker.
The big factor in signing him will be money. How much will he demand? Will other team throw big bucks at him?
Caldwell-Pope was on a one-year, $12 million contract this season. If he is willing to take around $7 million per season for a year or two, it can work it. As of now, the Lakers have $32 million in cap space.
If the Lakers decide to sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope it can pay off big. With a year of basketball with LeBron under his belt, things will only get easier for him. He is a safe bet to score in double-figures and bring some energy on defense.
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The Lakers better pursue him, before it’s too late.