Los Angeles Lakers: Why re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is excellent
How he fits on the Los Angeles Lakers roster
KCP or a player of his ilk was an obvious need for the Lakers this offseason. They obviously preferred to go with the player that had already been on the roster for a while, which makes sense.
Caldwell-Pope simply fits on this Lakers roster. Without him, the Lakers would be stretched thin at the 3 and the 2 in terms of depth. The loss of Danny Green via the trade for Dennis Schroder sort of created a void of wings that can shoot — yes, make the Danny Green jokes.
The Lakers’ only true wing player at a certain point this offseason was Talen Horton-Tucker and Kyle Kuzma, if he can even be called a wing player.
The 27-year-old is likely in for more minutes this December than he ever could have imagined. The Lakers are way deeper than last season when they won the NBA title, but KCP created an aura about himself that makes him desirable. Anyone that performs as well as he did in the Lakers’ title run should be given the benefit of the doubt in that regard.
The Lakers will likely utilize Caldwell-Pope in the starting lineup this upcoming season and he will likely be a part of their crunch time lineup. Some combination of Montrezl Harrell, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Dennis Schroder will likely be it. Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, and others will likely get some looks too.
dark. Next. Why Harrell is a perfect fit on the Lakers
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might be in for a larger chunk of change than originally anticipated, but the Lakers needed him. Given his Klutch Sports ties, his roster fit, and the familiar face he represents in the locker room, the Lakers made a great decision in re-signing him.