Lakers News: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Focused On Improving 3-Point Shooting To Better Complement LeBron James
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lakers
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Not long after the Detroit Pistons rescinded their qualifying offer to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Los Angeles Lakers moved to sign the shooting guard to a one-year, $18 million contract.

SHOP NOW: CHECK OUT THE LATEST MERCH ????????????

To some, the signing was seen as a pseudo recruitment of LeBron James as the players share the same agent in Rich Paul. The merits of that can be debated, but the Lakers certainly had a need at the position.

Fast forward to this summer, and the Lakers not only signed James but also re-signed Caldwell-Pope to another one-year contract. During one of his many interviews over the past two months, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson intimated the deals were completed concurrently.

Caldwell-Pope isn’t resting on the fact he now gets to play with James, however, and among the areas he’s focused on is improving from behind the arc, via Spectrum SportsNet:

“Stay in the gym and keep working on it. Try to be better than 38 percent. That’s what I’ve been telling myself and telling my coaches. I’m going to try to be better than last year.”

Despite rocky stretches, Caldwell-Pope shot 38.3 percent from three-point territory last season. It was good for third on the team among qualified players. Josh Hart led the Lakers by shooting 39.6 percent from deep, and he was followed by Brandon Ingram at 39 percent.

While much has been made about the Lakers’ roster around James and the lack of a prototypical knockdown shooter, Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka have dismissed any concern. They’ve argued attempting to beat the Golden State Warriors at their own game is a lost battle, and therefore the Lakers have constructed a versatile roster.

And with that, Johnson and Pelinka are confident the young core will take a step forward in their shooting, and that James and Rajon Rondo will help create better opportunities, lending to improved percentages across the board.

Are you following us on Instagram? We’ve changed our handle to @LakersNationOfficial! Find us on Facebook at @LakersNation, and on Twitter @LakersNation.

You May Also Like

Lakers News: LeBron James Calls It ‘Blessing’ To Be Playing At High Level In 17th NBA Season

Athletes have always shown signs of decline once they enter the latter stages of their playing career, but LeBron James…

Lakers Playoff Schedule & TV Info For First Round

With seeding games portion of the NBA restart now complete, the Los Angeles Lakers at least have some clarity…

Three Things Learned From Lakers Preseason Win Over Kings

The Los Angeles Lakers picked up their first win of the preseason when they outlasted the Sacramento Kings, 128-123…

Lakers Podcast: How Markelle Fultz Would Fit In Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers only have a 47 percent chance of keeping their 2017 first-round draft pick, but if they do, they could wind up with guard Markelle Fultz….