Los Angeles Lakers: Predicting the team’s second unit lineup

Shooting Guard: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

A controversial player in the Los Angeles Lakers community, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the overpriced bridge which led to the purple and gold eventually landing LeBron James. Caldwell-Pope’s agent Rich Paul represents LeBron and the dialogue between the Lakers and LeBron James was established.

While in the past KCP’s contracts were seen as a necessary evil to lure the big fish in LeBron, that is no longer the case. After years of overpaying Caldwell-Pope, the Lakers now have him on a team-friendly contract.

KCP has been a very frustrating player to watch during his time with the purple and gold. At times, he has shown the defensive ability to lock down opposing team’s best players and he has also shown a real knack for scoring the ball at an efficient rate. However, the best version of KCP is few and far between at times.

This can potentially be put down to the fact that he has not been playing for a contender during his time with the Lakers. With all that changed now, we may get a focused and hard-working Caldwell-Pope who can be an extremely valuable player in punishing opposing teams on both ends of the floor.

With Danny Green now considered a lock to be the starter at the shooting guard position, having someone like KCP come off the bench makes a ton of sense. He can add a scoring threat off the bench.