Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers for one year. Brian Windhorst of ESPN dropped the news on Wednesday night, documenting the latest chapter in what has been a strange offseason for the young wing.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has agreed to a one-year, $18 million deal with the Lakers, sources tell ESPN.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) July 12, 2017
Caldwell-Pope turned 24 in February and enjoyed arguably his best NBA season in 2016-2017. The fourth-year shooting guard averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while making a career-high 35 percent of his three-point attempts and excelling on the defensive end of the floor.
If you think it’s odd that a young, athletic player who has established himself as a good defender and has shown upside as a shooter signed a one-year deal, well, you’re not wrong. Caldwell-Pope was a restricted free agent this offseason, but after Detroit traded for Celtics guard Avery Bradley on July 7, they decided to let Caldwell-Pope become an unrestricted free agent.
Since this happened so late in the free agency cycle, the market for Caldwell-Pope wasn’t especially robust. This deal indicates that he decided his best option was to spend a year under contract (while collecting a pretty sweet paycheck) before hitting the market at the beginning of free agency next year. If he struggles, the market for him probably won’t be great next summer, but he’ll probably worry about that later.
It’s a low-risk gamble for the Lakers, which could use a 2-guard this year. There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as a one-year deal, and while a lot still needs to happen, it’s looking like Caldwell-Pope’s deal with the Lakers will be more proof of that.
