Orlando Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played for the Denver Nuggets for the past two seasons, a key cog during their title-winning season. Taken eighth overall in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, that’s likely how he envisioned his career panning out. When he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019, he may have believed that he would retire there.
After all, he helped them win a championship the last time that LeBron James reached the NBA Finals, in 2020.
Nonetheless, his tenure with the Nuggets ended about the same way as it did with the Lakers. Despite playing well throughout the season, Caldwell-Pope bombed in the 2020 NBA Finals, shooting 30.2 percent from 3. In his next and final postseason with L.A., he converted a career-low 21.1 percent of his 3s. Similarly, in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Caldwell-Pope’s jumper was missing in action. In 12 games, he shot just 32.7 percent from the field.
Now, the 11-year veteran is making a couple of interesting claims about the past postseason.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Turns Heads With Lakers Claim
“You know how towards the playoffs, guys get they rest; I felt like thats where we spent most of our energy and our time trying to get that first-place (seed), playing catch-up,” Caldwell-Pope tells Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green on his self-titled podcast.
“Then we get to the playoffs, we have no gas. We felt like the Lakers should have beat us. We was down every game…
It was a lot that went into that season that we wish we could have, you know…”
As Caldwell-Pope notes, Los Angeles had as good of a chance as any team to take them down in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The fatigue factor wasn’t common knowledge at the time. Nonetheless, the Lakers came out swinging, leading the Nuggets at halftime in every game that series. This was perhaps the biggest indictment of former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, as Nuggets head coach Michael Malone constantly outmaneuvered him in the second half.
Just imagine being up at halftime in five games and only coming away with one win. Though Ham’s post-playoff dismissal was swift, it was a long time coming. L.A.’s failure to capitalize on their postseason opportunities cemented the idea that Ham was in over his head.
Now, JJ Redick will get a chance to play chess with the Lakers.
The veteran-turned-coach has a fresh perspective on how to shape their offense, and will likely feature Anthony Davis more. Of course, Ham is a former NBA player with extensive coaching experience; it’s not like he didn’t know the game. Nonetheless, there are levels in every sphere of life, and coaching is no different. Though Redick still has to prove that he’s actually up for the job, he’s more popular now than when he was a player because of his renowned basketball IQ.
That doesn’t make Redick infallible in any sense of the word. Nonetheless, after Ham whiffed in his two seasons with the Lakers, he ran out of time. With that being said, much like people have discussed with Redick, head coaches need time to grow. However, James is likely retiring within the next two years, and L.A.’s championship window could slam shut rather quickly.
As a result, the Lakers are hoping Redick is a home run hire; a diamond in the rough, like Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
