4 Former Lakers Los Angeles Needs To Bring Back This Offseason
By Cem Yolbulan
2. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
One of the biggest mistakes the Lakers front office has ever made was trading away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope back in 2021. After four straight seasons of high-end two-way play, the Lakers moved on from KCP to trade for Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards. That trade proved to be a complete disaster for the Lakers.
Los Angeles has been looking for two-way wings ever since while Caldwell-Pope is as consistent and productive as ever. He won another ring with the Denver Nuggets, regularly guarding the best perimeter players on the other team while hitting 40% of his threes. There simply aren't too many players with his skill set in the league.
At age 31, Caldwell-Pope should be able to maintain his level of play for another few seasons. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer and if the Nuggets cheap out on him, the Lakers have to do everything they can to bring him back. This includes exploring sign-and-trade possibilities. A floor-spacer with no weaknesses in his game is exactly what LeBron James & Anthony Davis need.