Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players they must bring back in 2020-21

2. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope must have been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season in Lakerville. Now, planning to decline his player option and become a free agent, the Los Angeles Lakers must be cautious and pursue him right away.

In a team full of players that couldn’t create their own shot (with a few obvious exceptions, of course) KCP provided the Lakers with some offensive production. Pope ultimately became an irreplaceable member of the starting 5 that won it all.

Throughout the team’s 21-game playoff run, Kentavious averaged 10.7 points per game and was incredibly consistent too. In fact, he surpassed the 10-point mark on 16 of those 21 outings and was a player you could always count on for scoring the basketball.

The newly-crowned NBA champs will have to fight for Pope’s signature when the free agency period officially begins. Being LeBron’s buddy and all will vastly enhance the chances of him signing back, even at a smaller deal than the one he will have declined.

Were the Lakers front office able to secure a player as such at a low price, then the team would get one step closer towards repeating in the 2020-21 season. A key puzzle piece like KCP has and hopefully will help the team get over these shooting struggles from behind the arc.