The Lakers met with unrestricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on Tuesday, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Also today, Lakers team president Magic Johnson met with free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (link via Twitter).
According to Windhorst, several teams that were initially reluctant to engage on Caldwell-Pope have become more involved since the Pistons withdrew his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. Meanwhile, multiple teams with some cap room are exploring ways to create more in order to make a competitive offer, per Windhorst.
The Lakers have roughly $17MM in cap room left. The team will also be able to offer $4.3MM with its room exception once its cap space has been used. L.A. has been unwilling to offer multiyear deals that would compromise its cap flexibility for 2018.
Regarding the Rondo meeting, Mark Medina of The L.A. Daily news tweets that the Lakers expressed “serious interest” in the point guard and plan to follow up soon. The team has been on the lookout for a veteran point guard to pair with Lonzo Ball, serving as a mentor for the No. 2 overall pick.
Sign them both. They are just one year deals so it can’t hurt. I see them being able to actually help this team in a few ways.
Caldwell pope is not signing a one year deal
He should. He hasn’t shown he’s worth anything close to the max he wants and is starting the season with an albeit minimal suspension. 1 year deal for more than his original QO was before it was rescinded gives him a chance to make a name for himself and try again next offseason
Chris..I agree!
Sorry, you must know this because you either know him or know his agent. Thanks for the breaking news that he won’t sign a one year deal so now I won’t get my hopes up. LOL everyone thinks they know everything, it’s crazy.
He just did LOL
LOL man I sure am glad I didn’t listen to this guy. Signed a one year deal with the Lakers. Your sources were wrong lol
He did lol
SOS different day.
Rondo to the Lakers hurts my heart a little bit. Ugh.
Pierce and IT are Laker fans. How’s the heart now? Hope I didn’t cause a heart attack.