Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will score much more frequently
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a huge signing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Before bringing in the 24-year-old guard the Lakers were significantly thin at guard, now, Los Angeles has much more wiggle room when constructing their rotation. Bringing in KCP gives the Lakers a great starting shooting guard. Clarkson was great and all, but he played far better at the point and would be much better-suited backing up Ball.
Thus, like he has every season, we will continue to see Caldwell-Pope grow as a player and improve his stat line. Again, playing alongside a distributing guard will only help the scoring of Caldwell-Pope, which is exactly what the Lakers want.
Last season, Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Not the most incredible stats, but definitely something the Lakers can work with. His shooting percentage was okay, 39.9% from the field while shooting 35% from beyond the arc.
However, there is no doubt that Caldwell-Pope will be getting much better shots and looks in Los Angeles. Whether you realize it or not, that will have a huge impact on his performance.
Expect Caldwell-Pope’s points per game to flirt around the 17 mark. If he can produce around those numbers LA would be more than happy to have him.