NBA Rumors: Lakers Could Trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope To Bulls For Jabari Parker, Per Brian Windhorst
New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis isn’t the only player whom the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly pursuing ahead of the NBA’s February 7 trade deadline. Aside from their apparent plans to trade for Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Bullock, as previously reported by the Inquisitr, the latest rumors suggest that the Lakers are interested in acquiring high-scoring Chicago Bulls forward Jabari Parker and giving up one of their top reserves in return.
On the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Lakers have been in talks to trade shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Bulls in exchange for Parker, who has seldom played meaningful minutes in recent months after starting out the 2018-19 season as a key part of Chicago’s rotation. As noted by the Sporting News, this trade would first need to be approved by Caldwell-Pope, given how he signed a new one-year contract with Los Angeles after his original one-year deal with the team expired in the summer of 2018.
If the Los Angeles Lakers end up acquiring Jabari Parker, such a move could potentially give the team some much-needed offensive firepower in the event they have to trade Brandon Ingram and/or Kyle Kuzma in a deal for Anthony Davis. Parker, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Bulls in the 2018 offseason, is averaging 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds and shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from beyond the three-point line. He has, however, frequently been benched by Bulls head coach Jim Boylen due to his shortcomings on the defensive end, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Jabari Parker “could be a Laker within the next few days” as LA looks to swap KCP, per @WindhorstESPN pic.twitter.com/4ZNClEAWMQ
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) February 5, 2019
Meanwhile, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who started at shooting guard for the Lakers in 2017-18, has transitioned to a reserve role in the 2018-19 season due to coach Luke Walton’s decision to move the 6-foot-10 Ingram to the backcourt. As of this writing, he is averaging 10.3 points on 43.2 percent shooting, per Basketball-Reference, though like Parker, he is also shooting at a slightly subpar clip (34.8 percent) from three-point range.
The new trade rumors surrounding Jabari Parker and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope come just as reports are suggesting the Lakers are upping the ante with a more aggressive bid for Anthony Davis. Citing a tweet from the Los Angeles Times‘ Brad Turner, Silver Screen and Roll wrote on Tuesday that the Lakers’ latest trade package for Davis includes six current players — Kuzma, Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo, and Lance Stephenson — and two first-round draft picks. The offer would also require the Lakers to take on Pelicans guard/forward Solomon Hill’s contract, though Turner noted that Los Angeles would likely waive him via the stretch provision.
