L.A. Lakers offseason rewind: The rise of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
With the quick restart of the regular season this year, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to need a player that can serve as an energy guy, giving foundational players like Anthony Davis and LeBron James time to get their legs back after a long postseason run.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could be one of those players for the Lakers because of his ability to contribute on both ends of the floor.
The Georgia native stepped up his game in the postseason, averaging 11 points and two rebounds, along with shooting 38 percent from 3-point range.
And Caldwell-Pope was dialed in even more in the last three games of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, averaging 16 points a contest and shooting 45 percent from the field, making eight 3-pointers in those final three games.
“My defense gets my offense going,” Caldwell-Pope said after the Lakers won the NBA title. “I’ve been playing that way since college. I just try and get defensive stops, get out in transitions and get easy lay-ups, and either get to the free-throw line or transition threes to open up my game.”
The 27-year-old, 6-5 swingman struggled early on during the regular season, receiving criticism from L.A. fans for his uneven play. Caldwell-Pope heard the boos and used it as motivation.
“For me to start that way, it kind of got me down because I was expecting it to be different,” Caldwell-Pope said. “But I just stayed with myself. I knew what I could do. I knew I could shoot the ball. I knew I could play. It was just all about having a clear mind and clear head space to just go out and play, and not worrying about what everyone was saying about me. Because I know my job, and I know I do my job very well.”
The Money: Caldwell-Pope has a player option worth nearly $8.5 million but will likely opt out when free agency begins Nov. 20 because he can command more money on the open market. The Lakers have some limitations due to the salary cap but appear willing to get something done with a core player like Caldwell-Pope.
Bottom line: With Caldwell-Pope represented by Richard Paul of Klutch Sports -- the same agent as James and Davis -- there should be a relationship between his representation and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka that makes getting a deal done a little more tenable. And Caldwell-Pope appears to want to stay in L.A. “Everything we do is together,” Caldwell-Pope said. “The chemistry that we have amongst each other was tremendous. We’re all brothers at the end of the day, and we treated it like we were blood brothers. Everybody took criticism from one another, and we worked on it as a team together.”
