The Los Angeles Lakers are in a transition phase, with the great majority of the focus on young players like Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. What is left of the attention paid toward one of the league’s marquee franchises is centered around the possibility of adding LeBron James and/or Paul George next summer.
However, there is a more immediate move that the Lakers could be executing and it has to do with their $17 million in remaining cap space for the 2017-2018 season. Multiple reports indicate that Los Angeles met with veteran point guard Rajon Rondo and freshly unrestricted shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Can confirm the Lakers met with Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope today. Still have about $17M to give someone on a 1-year deal.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) July 11, 2017
The addition of Ball would make the partnership with Rondo very interesting. The 31-year-old point guard absolutely needs to have the ball in his hands to succeed and, aside from a brief renaissance during the 2017 Playoffs in Chicago that got cut short by injury, Rondo has struggled over the past few seasons. It is almost a certainty that Los Angeles could do better with their cap space, especially if Caldwell-Pope is willing to grab a parachute contract before hitting free agency again in 2018.
Caldwell-Pope is not a fantastic offensive player at this stage, as he has really struggled with his efficiency on that end after coming out of college as a shoot-first entity. However, the 24-year-old is a strongly above-average defender on the wing and, at least in theory, Caldwell-Pope would be a solid fit next to Ball as a result of that skill set.
The Lakers, as always, are trying to stay relevant while keeping their cap sheet clean for the potential of a monstrous splash in 2018. Adding Rondo or Caldwell-Pope makes sense in that way but, in short, one player makes a lot more sense than the other.
