Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on LeBron James, Lakers: 'It's Hard to Watch Sometimes'

LeBron James' former teammate, Denver Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, offered a blunt assessment of the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

"Just watching the games, it just looks like there's no basketball over there," he told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It's just playing pickup. It's hard to watch sometimes. So from me to him, just get the team together, and I just want to see that spark in him again. I don't think I see that spark in Bron. So, hopefully, he can get it back."

KCP, who played with James during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons and won a title with him in the Orlando bubble, said the key was surrounding him with plenty of shooters.

"The spacing was great," he said of the title-winning season. "The spacing gives driving lanes for Bron and [Anthony Davis], where Bron didn't like to shoot as much threes. So it gives him driving lanes, and when he does see the help, he's a tremendous passer and he would find us."

The 2-7 Lakers, meanwhile, are devoid of great shooting, hitting on just 28.4 percent of their three-point attempts this season. Even the Lakers are acknowledging as much at this point.

"I mean, to be completely honest, we're not a team that's constructed of great shooting," James told reporters after the season opener. "And that's just what the truth of the matter is. It's not like we're sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team."

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said on media day: "I think in terms of shooting, that's a needed skill. Some of that can come from the outside, by additional roster moves or roster moves throughout the season."

The Lakers seemingly addressed one of their biggest concerns coming into the season, with Russell Westbrook thriving in recent games coming off the bench. The trio of Westbrook, James and AD didn't play particularly well together in the starting lineup, so Westbrook's buy-in to a sixth-man role has been a welcome development.

But like James and AD, Westbrook is another player best suited to playing in a lineup loaded with shooting. And if the Lakers are going to address that need, Westbrook is still the most likely player going out the door.

At some point, the 14th-place team in the Western Conference is going to have to do something. The current roster isn't cutting it, potentially wasting one of the few remaining years James has left in his career.