Los Angeles Lakers: The most confusing moves of the offseason
By Jason Reed
2. Everything about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s contract
The Los Angeles Lakers signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a pretty hefty one-year, $16 million deal last offseason. At that time, the move made a ton of sense. The Lakers had no real outlook at shooting guard and with a small selection remaining, Caldwell-Pope was a must-have.
On a one-year deal, the Lakers could afford to pay Caldwell-Pope $16 million for the season. However, following the year, not many expected the shooting guard to re-sign with LA and if he did for a much smaller amount.
Instead, the Lakers signed Caldwell-Pope to another one-year deal, this time for $12 million. While I get that it is a one-year deal and keeps the team’s plans in mind for a big summer next summer, two years and $28 million is a very high price for Caldwell-Pope.
Simply put, there were better options on the market that would have cost the Lakers much less and could have allowed the team to sign better options elsewhere. Seth Curry, while he is not as good defensively, would have been a much better fit as a catch and shoot three-point shooter.
This move is especially confusing considering Josh Hart had a breakout Summer League and may have the starting shooting guard job by the time the 2019 calendar year rolls around.