Los Angeles Lakers: Players with the most intriguing storylines this year
By Jason Reed
1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
The Los Angeles Lakers agreed to overpay Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on a one-year, $18 million contract last summer.
That signing was perfectly fine. The Lakers really needed a shooting guard and with it being late in the free agent period, needing to get what they could. Overpaying Caldwell-Pope allowed the team to sign him to just a one-year deal to remain flexible for the next summer to sign LeBron.
However, the Lakers then agreed to re-sign Caldwell-Pope to a one-year, $12 million contract this summer. If KCP would have asked for a two-year, $30 million deal (which is essentially what he got) in 2017, Magic Johnson likely would have scoffed at it.
It was interesting why the Lakers paid Caldwell-Pope that much when the team could have gotten as good if not better three and D options for cheaper.
The main reason is likely because he is a Klutch Sports client, the same agency that represents LeBron James. It also could be that the one-year, $12 million is a perfect contract to trade away at the trade deadline this year.
As Josh Hart continues to succeed and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk stays knocking on the door, the trade speculation around Caldwell-Pope will grow. If anyone is going to get moved this summer, it will be Caldwell-Pope, and could even be part of a Klutch Sports swap for Anthony Davis.