Young ‘Pope’ picks Lakers over the Nets
LLAS VEGAS — Nets targetget Kentavious CaldwellPopPope is off the board, reportedledly agreeing to a one-year, $18 million deal with the Lakersers.
Brooklyn was believed to bbe in the best position to offeoffer Caldwell-Pope a longtermterm contract, with most othother teams having little cap space. But the shootinging guard — regarded as the top unrestricted free agent left on the market — bet on himhimself, taking a short deal witwith Los Angeles so he can go rright back into the market agaagain next summer. It’s risky with so few teams having cap sp space Now next will summer. Brooklyn generaeral manager Sean Marks pivpivot again to sign another free agent, use his cap space to aacquire more assets, or sit on all that money until next ye year? The Nets have nearly $17 milmillion in cap space left after havhaving their offer sheet to OttOtto Porter Jr. matched and deadealing for DeMarre Carroll.
SSince Marks took over in February 2016, he has taken on about $100 million in salary-dump deals to acquire D’Angelo Russell, picks that became Caris LeVert and rookie Jarrett Allen and firstand second-round picks next year. With few big-name free agents left on the market, Marks could pick off bargains over the next few days and hold the rest of that cap space for similar moves.
They had been patiently eyeing Caldwell-Pope, who had rejected the Piston’s fiveyear, $80 million offer to stay in Detroit, reportedly seeking the maximum. The Pistons renounced him and quickly acquired Avery Bradley.
“What we had to weigh there is Avery comes in, he’s only got one year on his contract, against where KC P ’ s contract could potentially go, and if you sign him you are well into the tax and now have significantly less flexibility going forward,” Pistons coach and president Stan Van Gundy told MLive.com.
“There was never a point where it was a matter of what KCP was worth. It was a matter of balancing. … It was not a strategy at the beginning of the summer that we don’t want to pay KCP.”
But Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka had no such compunctions in Los Angeles. They were adamant about only offering a oneyear deal so they can preserve cap space to pursue LeBron James next summer. James and Caldwell-Pope both share the same agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.
Even without CaldwellPope, the Nets backcourt is crowded. Russell and Jeremy Lin are the starters, with Spencer Dinwiddie and Isa
aN iah Whitehead the nominal backups. But Archie Goodwin is forcing his way into that conversation, averaging 12.7 points on 57.7 percent shooting in the summer league. aT “I look at it as an opportunity to get better with our young core of guys,’’ Goodwin said. “I’ve been having ups and downs throughout my career, but I feel like here I really have an opportunity and I’m trying to make the most of it.
“I just want to come in and be the best that I can be.”
Those ups and downs included getting drafted at 18, then waived by Phoenix and then by New Orleans. The Nets plucked him out of the developmental league last season as a reclamation project — one paying good early returns.
“It’s just getting in there making plays,’’ Goodwin said. “Everyone knows how effective I am getting to the rim and in pick-and-rolls. It’s just getting in there and making the right plays out of it; and defensively just causing havoc, getting steals and making it tough for the other people.”
That’s what he did in Monday’s 95-66 rout of Milwaukee, playing like the best player on the floor. He had 18 points, a game-high eight assists and just one turnover, spacing the floor, playing under control and creating for others.