As the NBA trade deadline approaches, teams are once again being divided into buyers and sellers. The Los Angeles Lakers, as most predicted, will undoubtedly fall into the latter category for yet another year.
Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle have both been linked to trade talks, though for salary-shedding reasons. The Lakers do have a couple guys on expiring contracts who could help a contender, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has reportedly caught the New York Knicks’ eye.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reported Monday that the Knicks might pursue Caldwell-Pope this summer once he becomes a free agent, though their options in that regard are somewhat iffy considering their cap situation. So today, Ian Begley of ESPN wrote a lengthy article about New York’s options on the trade market. The thinking would be that the Knicks might try to add KCP before the deadline so they’d have the ability to re-sign him this offseason.
It’s hard to tell what a trade would look like given KCP’s salary and the Lakers edict to not add salary this offseason under just about any circumstance. There’s also the matter of how he helps them on the court in a season where they don’t need to concern themselves with tanking at all.
The Knicks might be interested, but the partnership for a trade seems pretty awkward. Just something to keep an eye on, if nothing else.
