Key Player from Lakers’ Latest Championship Run to Return

The Los Angeles Lakers lost a few players over the years. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is one of them. The team traded KCP to the Washington Wizards, but guess what the key player may attract the attention of the Lakers and return sooner than expected.

John Hollinger from The Athletic discussed the idea of seeing KCP put on a Lakers jersey once again. According to him, the Lakers would use every chance to get KCP right away. The former Lakers veteran is due $14 million in the 2022-23 season with only $4.9 million guaranteed. The Wizards may soon cut KCP.

“To some extent, they have to hope the lure of a big role on a prominent team will offset the lack of cash, and/or that there might be some free agent(s) who face an unexpectedly chilly market and turn to L.A. on a one-year deal with a player option. One potential answer I could think of is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who might not have his partially guaranteed deal picked up by Washington and could benefit from a reunion with his 2020 championship teammates. Of course, he might not ever become a free agent.”

Key player to return to the Lakers after all

We have a few good reasons to believe that Kuzma will stay with the Wizards. This doesn’t apply to Caldwell-Pope. The Lakers needed someone like the veteran this past season. NBA experts look forward to this reunion and Jovan Buha from The Athletic is also a fan.

“I think the Lakers and Lakers fans would welcome a Caldwell-Pope reunion,” Buha wrote. “He was an ideal complement to James and Davis with his near-elite role-player combination of spot-up shooting, transition finishing and one-on-one defense on either backcourt position.”

In his time with the Wizards, Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.2 points per game while making 39% of his threes. His defense is great and yes, the Lakers can use him in the upcoming season.

The Wizards may cut Caldwell-Pope and save enough money for their next addition. They may trade KCP and the Lakers would jump in as a trade partner right away.