Kentavious Caldwell-Pope explains polarizing relationship with Lakers fans

The Los Angeles Lakers have made their share of regrettable decisions during the Jim and Jeanie Buss eras. For that matter, even the most accomplished of organizations have regrets in terms of personnel decisions gone wrong.

In recent memory, few losses have stung as badly as the retrospective regret that's emerged from the 2021 trade that sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Washington Wizards.

Caldwell-Pope was a key player for the Lakers between 2017-18 and 2020-21. It was a polarizing experience for the former SEC Player of the Year, as fans remorselessly put him through the wringer when he was struggling and praised him heavily when he succeeded.

In a recent appearance on The Draymond Green Show, Caldwell-Pope spoke about his love-hate relationship with Lakers fans and why he's grown to respect them.

"I said it after I won the championship, but it’s a love-hate relationship with the Lakers fans. They love you regardless, but like you’re doing bad or you ain’t playing up to your potential that they think you can play at, they on you. They gonna let you know. Then you’re playing at your greatest, then they with you. They with you regardless, but they gonna let you know when you doing good and when you doing bad. That’s why I respect so much about their fans, they hardcore, they on you."

There's no pressure quite like playing for the Lakers, and Caldwell-Pope became as familiar as anyone with that experience.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has a love-hate relationship with Lakers fans

Caldwell-Pope would go on to elaborate, explaining how his significant other had to withstand a rush of angry Lakers fans flooding her comments with criticism. It was one of the experiences that soured the two-time NBA champion on his experience with the franchise.

In terms of what happened on the court, however, Caldwell-Pope showed a healthy appreciation for how fans treated his performances in a balanced manner.

When Caldwell-Pope was playing well, he felt the praise that comes as a result of shining with the Lakers. When he was struggling, the criticism was equally as loud, even if a subset of the fanbase expressed their discontent in an inappropriate manner.

It's yielded the inevitable result of Caldwell-Pope having a love-hate relationship with a fanbase that he spent four seasons playing in front of.

Caldwell-Pope helped the Lakers win a championship in 2020, thriving as the team's primary perimeter defender. As Alex Caruso began to rise in popularity and prominence, however, the team seemed to decide that Caldwell-Pope was expendable.

That decision has come back to haunt general manager Rob Pelinka, as Caldwell-Pope has helped the Denver Nuggets defeat the Lakers in two consecutive postseason series.

Now a two-time NBA champion, having won his second ring with Denver in 2022-23, Caldwell-Pope is a shining example of what could've been. His defensive consistency and three-point shooting would've filled a longstanding void that the Lakers continue to struggle to address.

Caldwell-Pope understands the nature of playing for the Lakers, but he's also Exhibit A of a fan base perhaps not knowing how good they have it until a player is gone.