Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agrees to one-year, $18 million deal with Lakers

Free-agent guard-forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope reached an agreement on a one-year, $18 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with direct knowledge of negotiations told USA TODAY Sports.

The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly until the deal was official. 

Caldwell-Pope started free agency as a restricted free agent but the Detroit Pistons withdrew his qualifying offer after they acquired guard Avery Bradley in a trade with the Boston Celtics. That made Caldwell-Pope an unrestricted free agent, and he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, too.

Once Detroit pulled the qualifying offer, it left Caldwell-Pope in a predicament. He was no longer restricted, and the Brooklyn Nets – a team which had interest – had money locked up in an offer sheet for Otto Porter Jr. The Wizards matched the offer sheet for Porter, but it’s not yet official, leaving Brooklyn without the cap space right now to acquire Caldwell-Pope.

Furthermore, there weren’t many teams with the cap space available to sign Caldwell-Pope for the amount he sought. Or if teams had cap space, not many needed a player like Caldwell-Pope.

It worked out for Caldwell-Pope and the Lakers. Caldwell-Pope, who averaged 13.8 points last season, is a solid perimeter defender and has the potential to improve offensively, especially with his three-point shot.

For Caldwell-Pope, the deal with the Lakers is like accepting the rookie qualifying offer (approximately $5 million) except for way more money, and he will be able to sign a longer deal as a free agent next summer.

ESPN first reported details of the agreement. 

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