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.
1. The Los Angeles Lakers swap Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for JJ Redick
This is a trade that I normally would not be a huge fan of because on the surface, flipping multiple years of KCP for half a season of Redick, with Redick’s not-so-great defense, does not make a lot of sense. However, with the Lakers potentially wanting to free up money changes everything.
This might seem strange as the New Orleans Pelicans already have the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2023 first-round pick as part of the Anthony Davis trade. The Pelicans actually have a pick swap for 2023, and with the Lakers likely still being a contending team, the Pelicans probably won’t be swapping picks.
That is why the Lakers can sweeten the protections on the draft pick with the New Orleans Pelicans. Instead of a pick swap, the Lakers can outright trade the pick to the Pelicans, protecting the pick in the top five in the outside chance that something terrible happens and the Lakers have a top-five pick.
A first-round pick for a minimal offensive upgrade in JJ Redick might seem like an overpay but the Lakers are already giving up so much draft capital to New Orleans and probably would trade that pick if they had it anyways.
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The important thing is saving money and this is the one trade where the Lakers would get someone who replaces KCP in the rotation almost exactly. With nothing else to really package into the deal to make it worthwhile for New Orleans, the Lakers have to get creative with the picks they have already traded to New Orleans.
2. The Los Angeles Lakers snag two players from the Sacramento Kings
One of the most talked-about potential buyout signings for the Los Angeles Lakers is Hassan Whiteside, although there is no guarantee that Whitside is even bought out by the Sacramento Kings.
In this trade, the Lakers would be assuring that Whiteside is coming to Los Angeles and would also be adding a very valuable player to the rotation as well.
Both Whiteside and Bjelica are on expiring contracts with Bjelica being one of the biggest names to watch at the deadline. While Bjelica is a prime trade target, his value is actually not that high. The Kings reportedly are looking for a second-round pick in return for Bjelica — that is an easy price to pay.
In this package, the Kings are getting a player that they could either keep around for several years in KCP or could flip for more assets to a contender either now or in the offseason. They are also getting a young center in Cacok for half a season of a guy that they signed for the league minimum.
This not only fixes the money problem for the Los Angeles Lakers but makes the team much better as well. Whiteside is exactly what the team needs in a second center and Bjelica adds a nice scoring presence to the bench for LA.
He is not a direct replacement for KCP but with the versatility in the rotation, the Lakers could certainly make it work. Bjelica is not a great defensive player but he can certainly hold his own, so there are no concerns in that regard.
Bjelica’s play has been poor over the past few weeks and it has really hurt his average but he still pieced together three straight seasons with a 40% field-goal percentage from beyond the arc. It would likely be a lateral move from KCP to Bjelica and the guarantee of getting Whiteside makes it worth it.