New Orleans Pelicans: 3 free agents Stan Van Gundy could recruit

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New Orleans Pelicans, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a play in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /

New Orleans Pelicans: Stan Van Gundy could recruit free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Stan Van Gundy loves 3-and-D players and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has proven he is a pretty good one.

He was crucial to the Los Angeles Lakers’ title, mostly due to his ability to defend multiple positions and knock down timely 3-point shots.

KCP has already announced he will decline his player option this offseason and become an unrestricted free agent.

Unless the Pelicans made a trade, it would be unlikely that they could afford KCP, especially if he gets a raise from his team-friendly contract from this season.

However, he did have his best years under Stan Van Gundy and would be a welcome addition to a Pelicans team that needs to get longer and better on defense. The addition of KCP would allow the Pelicans to potentially trade Jrue Holiday, add some more roster depth and save a ton of cap space.

Van Gundy loved KCP when he was in Detroit, playing him huge minutes even though he wasn’t very good offensively. Pope has improved on that end, especially his efficiency and 3-point shooting, so would fit very well in Van Gundy’s system.

KCP is a longshot but he thrived under Van Gundy and would be a nice basketball fit with the New Orleans Pelicans.