Georgia Basketball: Kentavious Caldwell Pope signs With L.A.

A former Georgia Basketball player has ended up on the rebuilding Lakers team for next season.

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Former Georgia Basketball player Kentavious Caldwell Pope has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. The deal is for 1 year and 18 million dollars.

KCP spent 2 years in Athens starting in 2011. He averaged 15.8 points a game, 1.6 assists and 3 total rebounds during his time as a Dawg. The outstanding shooting guard was then selected in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Detroit Pistons.

KCP has rather quietly had a pretty solid NBA career thus far, averaging 13.8 points per game this past season and 11.7 for his career over 4 seasons. This deal is being hailed by many as a home run for the rebuilding Lakers. KCP was a two way nightmare for opponants last season and many were expecting him to get a max offer from someone.

The fact that nobody made that offer probably says more about the current NBA market more than it does Caldwell-Pope. The Salary cap exploded before last season which seems to have led a large number of teams over spending on players. With a cap figure for next year that is much lower than expected, most teams were unable to make the sort of offer KCP would have liked.

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Therefore he has decided to take a one year deal and re-enter the market next year. The Lakers are one of the few teams who are projected to have lots of cap space next season. If KCP plays well, he could well find that max offer sheet waiting for him in his new home. He will join the already famous 1st round pick Lonzo Ball as a member of the rebuilding Lakers. Ball himself has a more ‘famous’ father, Lavar Ball.