Entering this summer's free agency, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was expected to generate a lot of interest from teams around the league before the Detroit Pistons matched any offer given to him as he was a restricted free agent. However, despite many interested teams, no large long-term offer was extended to him, and became an unrestricted free agent after his former team renounced his rights.
That gave the Los Angeles Lakers the chance they were looking for to snag him, and even if they were not linked to him before, they were able to come to terms with KCP in a one-year, $18 million deal.
The team, including their general manager Rob Pelinka, feels very fortunate to land the talented shooting guard. Pelinka even made a hilarious comparison of him with the Israelites during biblical times to let everyone how they feel with his addition.
From Drew Garrison of SB Nation's Silver Screen & Roll:
"Like Israelites stranded in the desert and all the sudden bread came down from heaven. That's how it feels today," – Pelinka on landing KCP
— Drew Garrison (@DrewGarrisonSBN) July 18, 2017
The 24-year-old Georgia product is coming off another solid campaign for the Pistons, averaging 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and a career high 2.5 assists in 33.3 minutes per game. He was an integral part of their rotation last season and emerged as one of the better shooting guards in the league today.
Caldwell-Pope's addition to the Lakers will give them depth in their guard rotation as well as another scorer who can lessen the load on Julius Randle, Lonzo Ball, Jordan Clarkson, and Brandon Ingram.
If he can play at the same level he did in Detroit, KCP could turn out to be a very important signing for L.A. With the team currently in rebuilding mode, KCP could definitely speed up the process and even surprise many should they make it all the way to the playoffs.
Follow Us
Subscribe