The One Contract Holding Back the Los Angeles Lakers
The legacy of the 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers remains up in the air, as the season is still on hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One thing fans are able to do, however, is look ahead to next season, and determine how the Lakers can get even better in LeBron James' quest to win a title in a third town. As it stands now, the team is projected to be over $4 million over the cap next season, according to Spotrac. One albatross contract on the books is the one for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's contract is for $19 million with the Lakers but the cap hit is $16.6 mil based on unlikely incentives (ie the Miami Maneuver I had written on) - I don't have the incentive detail yet - also has a 15% trade bonus
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) July 9, 2019
Caldwell-Pope has a player option next season worth $8.5 million. That makes him the fourth-highest earner on the team behind James, Anthony Davis, and Danny Green, yet he only averaged 9.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in 2019-20. He has only averaged 11.6 points per game throughout his career, and has been relegated to a bench role over the past two seasons.
Russell Westbrook turns Kentavious Caldwell-Pope into a statue. Bye. pic.twitter.com/MiwnWOceV8
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 4, 2018
The Lakers could have used an experienced veteran as a key player off the bench this season, and were instead stuck with Caldwell-Pope and his average production. There is no reason why he wouldn't pick up his player option, and that puts the team in another tough financial position because of a player earning well over his true value.
The only key player on the team this affects is Dwight Howard. Los Angeles may have to move on from him, and the financial situation means the Lakers can't upgrade the roster in a major way. All because of a bad contract handed out that continued a tradition by the Lakers of overpaying players during the past decade.