Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo and More

The Los Angeles Lakers have had an offseason marked by shrewd moves towards their goal of rebuilding a contender, and they might not be done yet. 

After adding Lonzo Ball through the draft and dealing D'Angelo Russell away to shed Timofey Mozgov's contract, as well as acquiring Brook Lopez and a first round pick, the future looks bright for the franchise. 

The team has a young core of players with promise in Ball, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle while having enough cap space to make a run at the biggest free agents in the 2018 class, which could feature Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Paul George. 

There are still strategic moves out there that could aid the team in their direction of building a young core while looking to add a star, and it appears the team is looking primarily to add some depth in the back court. 

According to Mark Medina of the Orange County Register, the Lakers don't have any "imminent deals," but they do have a real interest in free agents Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, Rodney Stuckey and Tyler Ennis.

David Aldridge is also still reporting the Lakers as a candidate to wind up with Jamal Crawford:

With the team targeting more than one guard, let's break down which of their options would be the best fit and the likelihood we see these players in Purple and Gold next season. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

John Raoux/Associated Press

The Lakers interest in Caldwell-Pope makes the most sense of anyone on the list. 

The 24-year-old guard was renounced by the Detroit Pistons after they received Avery Bradley in a trade with Boston, leaving KCP to navigate the free market. 

That's great news for the Lakers, as it would give them the opportunity to acquire another young asset. Caldwell-Pope hasn't shown a ton of improvement in four seasons with Detroit, but he did average 13.8 points per game on a career high 35 percent shooting from three-point range last season. 

Those are nearly identical numbers to D'Angelo Russell, who they lost in the trade to the Nets. 

But this move goes beyond what it does for the Lakers on the court. In Luke Walton's system, KCP could become a valuable spot-up shooter that winds up being a mainstay on the roster, but the real key here is that Caldwell-Pope and LeBron James share the same agent in Rich Paul. 

If the Lakers come through with a big offer for Paul's client now, it might give them a leg up when they try to woo the biggest of targets next season. 

Caldwell-Pope would need to be willing to get creative, though. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers are only interested in signing the young guard to a huge one-year deal:

By signing to a one-year deal, the Lakers wouldn't be committing any of the cap space that could be used on James, Paul George or Russell Westbrook. That's a bit of a shaky situation, but thus far Caldwell-Pope hasn't received a long-term offer that has made any headlines, so he may be willing to take the one-year gamble. 

Rajon Rondo

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In terms of on-court skill, Rondo makes sense for the Lakers. The pass-first point would make an interesting mentor for Lonzo Ball and give the Lakers some much needed experience on the floor. 

Before getting injured, Rondo showed that he could still be useful to a playoff team in the Chicago Bulls first-round series against the Celtics, where he averaged 11.5 points, 10 assists and 8.5 rebounds. 

The interest appears to be real, too. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported there was interest on the Lakers end at the beginning of the month, and the guard remains unsigned. 

The only concern with the 31-year-old is that he doesn't exactly have the reputation for being the best player from a chemistry standpoint. His run with the Bulls was marked with petty drama between himself and Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade. 

A change of scenery might be what he needs, but chemistry is a dangerous thing to mess with, and Rondo has always been a bit of an enigma. 

Rodney Stuckey

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Stuckey is also on Medina's list of potential targets. The 31-year-old is accustomed to coming off the bench and would bring a veteran presence to the roster, although little in terms of making the Lakers better on the court. 

Stuckey played in just 39 games last season, averaging 7.2 points and 2.2 assists per game. 

It wouldn't be the most splashy signing, but it would give the Lakers a stopgap as the backup point guard and a mentor for Ball as he learns the ins-and-outs of playing point guard in this league.

Stuckey's reliability has made him a consideration for multiple teams, and the market for him is strong, per Sam Amick of USA Today:

Tyler Ennis

The Lakers interest in Ennis isn't altogether surprising, but signing him wouldn't be altogether newsworthy either. The 22-year-old finished the season with the Lakers, where he was a contributor off the bench posting a career-high 7.7 points and 2.4 assists per game. 

If the Lakers don't like their other options, re-signing Ennis gives them a cheap option to try out for another year to see if he is the answer in the search for guard depth. 

Jamal Crawford

The Lakers remain a team that is connected to Crawford in the rumor mill. Despite Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reporting that interest is "dying on both sides," Aldridge still thinks the Lakers are in for Crawford. 

This seems like it makes more sense for Crawford than it does for the Lakers, though. 

Obviously inking a deal with the Lakers would mean that the dynamic guard wouldn't have to uproot himself to move to another city while playing alongside Lonzo Ball. For the Lakers, however, it means adding another guard that needs to have the ball in his hands to be successful. 

According to Basketball Reference, Crawford took 10.6 shots in 26.3 minutes per game last season with a usage rate of 22.7. That was his lowest usage rate in six years, but he's still a volume scorer that needs a lot of touches to do what he does. 

That means he's going to take touches from the younger players on this roster who need them to develop their own offensive game. Crawford makes a lot more sense on a contender who could use his scoring off the bench to take them to the next level. 

For the Lakers, he doesn't help develop the young core or give them a better shot at free agents next season. It's probably best for both sides if the interest in one another is dying.