Lakers Are Trying To Trade KCP For JJ Redick
The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly trying to trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (KCP) for JJ Redick.
Redick, as many of you know, has never missed the playoffs in his career. After signing with Pelicans this summer, there are is now a huge chance of that happening.
Earlier in the year, the Pelicans traded franchise player Anthony Davis to the Lakers for their whole young core, excluding Kyle Kuzma.
There are now rumors of new trade talks between these two teams as the Lakers are reportedly interested in trading for Redick.
The reason behind this proposed move is obvious to people that follow the game.
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The Lakers want to bring in shooting prowess to alongside LeBron James and Davis.
And who will fit better than Redick in this situation?
Redick has played with many franchise players during his career and he doesn’t mind being a third or a fifth scoring option as he shown that in the past.
He fits perfect with two All Stars and they make him a better player, allowing him and create space for his specialty – 3 pointers.
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Unfortunately, on the other side of the court he has proven himself as a poor defender due to his age and size.
That is the flip side to acquiring Redick. You create a new weakness by attempting to fill an existing one.
The latest rumors are that in return for Redick, the Lakers will offer KCP and the 46th overall pick in 2019 Draft, Talen Horton-Tucker.
If this happens it will be hard to pick a winner of this trade.
Redick is fine shooter and exactly what the Lakers need, but Pope is a decent shooter and better defender.
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Now in his 3rd season as a Laker KCP has proven himself as a loyal member of the organization despite being a trade talk topic even since the first day he put up on his uniform.
Minding his own business and doing exactly what he is asked to do has earned him sympathies from some Lakers fans.
KCP has played somewhat well and proven himself as a decent 3 point shooter in the past 2 seasons for the Lakers, and now that leaves the question: why should they trade him for similar returns?
Moreover, giving away another rookie player in Horton-Tucker will leave Lakers with no young talent in the next few years (they gave away all future picks and young core players for Davis).
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If this actually happens, Lakers will likely end up as the losers in this trade.
New Orleans is a rebuilding based around the former Lakers trio of Ball, Ingram and Hart, and the number 1 pick of 2019 Draft Zion Williamson. If this trade goes through, they will add another young player and will most probably try to trade or buyout KCP.
It is also worth mentioning that the relationship between the two offices are not great as the old Pelicans GM asked for 7 players and 5 future picks for Anthony Davis back in February this year.
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Failing to acquire a superstar at that point led to Magic Johnson resigning from his position as general manager with Lakers, so there were obviously serious ramifications for New Orleans’ initial hard-to-get act.
Also, at the end of the day, for this trade to happen, they will also need cooperation from both Redick and KCP.
KCP has a no-trade clause in his deal, and he very well might use it if he sees himself being traded from a title contender to a young team.
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Michael Kyaw, initially a PR Manager, built up a valuable network of connections in the sports world that he then utilized to become an influential sports business reporter. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Fansided, ESPN and the Wall Street Journal.
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