Los Angeles Lakers: 2 potential trades for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a new three-year contract after he put together a strong performance in the NBA Playoffs en route to the Lakers winning the NBA Championship.
The Lakers had a hole in the depth chart and needed to bring him back, which is why the team may have slightly overpaid for the two-guard. KCP signed a three-year, $39 million contract with the Lakers, although only $4.8 million is guaranteed in the third season.
A new contract seemingly meant that KCP was safe from any trade rumors for the time being and would get, at the very least, one full season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Recent reports indicate that may not be the case.
On a recent episode of The Woj Pod, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski stated that the Lakers could make moves at the deadline to help the team re-sign key players next offseason in Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker (h/t Timothy Rapp, Bleacher Report).
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tops the list of players for the Los Angeles Lakers to trade for this reason.
There are several players that are locked down past this season. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are obvious no-trades and Kyle Kuzma has been playing really well this season, playing his way out of a trade, in my opinion.
Marc Gasol’s contract is minimal and while he has been disappointing it does not make much sense to part ways with him. Montrezl Harrell has a player option that he is not guaranteed to accept, and quite frankly, is a bargain if he does.
With KCP being wildly inconsistent this season, the Lakers may take a long-term approach to the deadline, trade him for future salary relief and hope to get someone in return that can fill his spot in the rotation.
Here are two potential trades for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that are worth exploring for the Los Angeles Lakers.