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Los Angeles Lakers: Why Kentavious Caldwell-Pope isn’t safe from a trade

By Jason Reed

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 15: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on May 15, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 15: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on May 15, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is not that consistent

This isn’t to say that KCP is a bad player or shooter in the slightest. In fact, KCP was one of the best shooters for the Los Angeles Lakers last season; but therein lies the problem. If a team’s best shooter is someone as inconsistent as Caldwell-Pope then that’s probably not a great thing.

And I already know what you’re thinking. You’ve pulled up his Basketball-Reference page and see that he shot 41% from beyond the arc last season. That is true and if the Lakers can keep him around then great. But if they can turn that into something more consistent then they absolutely should.

Anyone who watched the Lakers this season knows exactly what I’m talking about. There were KCP games where he was Steph Curry from beyond the arc and could not miss. There were also games in which he wouldn’t make a single three, despite taking multiple attempts.

Don’t believe me? Go ahead and click the game logs tab on his B-R page. KCP had 15 games with no three-pointers made along with another 22 where he made just one. The team’s best shooter percentage-wise made fewer than two threes in over half his games played.

He did have three games with six or more threes, but if you remove those three games from his overall season his percentage dips all the way to 38.8%. Still solid, but three games accounted for 15% of his total made threes last season.

Again, as already mentioned, this article is not a petition to trade KCP. It’s just an explanation as to why he’s not safe, when really, the only totally safe players are LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That three-point percentage is not going to save him.

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