NBA game man|Wolong Phoenix becomes a new generation of "champion hunter" Lakers to Nuggets he is a real strongman
Who man Mamba wind bone, Caldwell Pope.
The outside general, who once followed Zhan Mei to win the playoffs in the park and averaged points per game second only to Zhan Mei, has now changed the door and stood next to Mr. Yo and Murray.
One of the former Crouching Dragon Phoenix chicks, Caldwell Pope, seems to be following his partner in the Lakers and senior Danny Green to become the new "champion hunter".
They can always find the right team to be title contenders.
In turn, those strong teams that compete for the championship level are happy to let them be the best sappers and blue-collar workers around superstars.
Sure enough, the dragon and phoenix chicks have to be at peace in the world.
But Caldwell Pope really wasn't like that when he first entered the league.
He came from what may be the worst 2013 draft pick in nearly a decade, debuting with the 8th pick in the first round. He averaged 18.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game among Georgia college students, and was an absolute thigh for the team.
After being drafted by the Pistons, he also quickly became a workhorse, acting as an outside cannon around Drummond and Greg Monroe around the "Twin Towers". By the time he completed his rookie contract in 2015-16, he was already averaging 14.5 outside scorers per game.
Even if it weren't for the Pistons' internal-based system of play, he would have had more room to play. He turned down a five-year, $80 million contract extension because he felt he deserved more.
Before the 2017-18 season, he signed a one-year, $18 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, who were in the midst of a rebuilding period at the time, to play for the Purple and Gold Army.
Now it seems that Pope should be regarded as a dark move under LeBron James joining the Lakers.
Pope, who also belongs to Clutch's agency, first came to the Lakers, and the Purple and Gold Army, which was rebuilding at that time, had a lot of salary space, gave him a contract slightly higher than his own value, let him make money first, and when James joined, Pope would cut his salary to make the Lakers better matched.
Pope spent four years with the Lakers, earning $18 million in his first year, and only $32 million in the next three years.
Sure enough, he waited for James to join after the 17-18 season, and in the 18-19 season, he even sat on the bench, giving the young Yingge, Ball Brother, and Kuzmateng positions, but still averaged 11.4 points per game.
And after the effort of the first two seasons, his patience finally paid off in 2019.
The Lakers traded for thick eyebrows, although the attack on Leonard failed, but still signed Danny Green, Bradley and other high-quality puzzles, while Pope and Rondo, McGee and other veterans of the previous season returned again, the Lakers built an extremely team, experienced, defensive fierce team around James.
In that Lakers team used Bradley as a fake starter, in fact, James was used as a point guard, Pope was still only a backup, but together with Kuzma and Rondo formed the team's most solid bench. He started just 26 games for the season, but averaged 9.6 points per game and finished fourth behind Jammei and Kuzma.
It once gave birth to the Lakers' magical law of "as long as Pop scores, the Lakers will win". He and Danny Green together became the "Crouching Dragon Phoenix Hatchling", although the three-point like the six-pulse Excalibur is not good at times, but the defense is solid, they and Caruso and Kuzma formed the league's top outside defensive network at that time, and were the behind-the-scenes heroes who were able to go to the end of the Lakers.
Of course, his biggest stage is the playoffs.
Before the rematch, Bradley refused to go to the park because of fear of the virus, and the Lakers lost their important No. 1 position. In this case, head coach Vogel decisively put Pope back into the starting lineup, and he was one of the Lakers' untouchable starting five throughout the playoff victory.
And he lived up to expectations, putting in a better performance than the regular season.
In the first round against the Blazers, the Lakers scored four consecutive games after losing the first game, while Pope scored double-doubles in the last four games, shooting a total of 13 three-pointers, locking up the opposite second-leading scorer McCollum while becoming the Lakers' fiercest cannon on the outside.
Against the Nuggets, he was even more on firepower, scoring single digits in just one game and shooting 44 percent from three-point range, and it was during that time he conquered current coach Mike Malone.
"He's the kind of player every coach in the playoffs wants to have, highly focused, highly professional. He is willing to do anything to win." When he joined the Nuggets this year, coach Malone recalled.
In the series of the Lakers' Finals victory over the Heat, he still contributed a lot, scoring 31 points in the last two games, and his three-point divine accuracy allowed the Lakers' outside line to not suffer losses in the playoffs that year, maximizing the performance of James.
Throughout the playoffs, he averaged 10.7 points per game, making him the only Lakers player other than James to score a double-double.
However, both Lakers management and fans ignore his contributions to the team, along with Green and Kuzma, and most of the time only care about their iron and how many times they are beaten by stars whose salaries are much higher than theirs. In the 2021 offseason, he and Kuzma and Harrell were packaged to the Wizards in exchange for Wilson, and now it seems almost a lose-lose deal.
The only people who didn't get hurt in the deal were probably Kuzma and Pope. Kuzma has more possession and tactical status with the Wizards, and this year he has played at an All-Star level, with a big contract just around the corner.
Pope, on the other hand, continues to play hard, contributing 13.2 points and 1.1 steals in 77 games in 2021-22, his dedicated and accurate performance has won the love of the Wizards, and when he returned to Washington this year on behalf of the Nuggets, he was cheered by the crowd and the team showed video clips thanks, which should be a treatment for top stars.
But Pope still wants to be a winner and win a championship, he is no longer the young man who was above the top and delusional that he is an All-Star in the Pistons, and now he wants to be a "championship expert" like Danny Green.
Before the start of the season, the Nuggets traded him for Will Barton and Monte Morris and quickly completed a two-year, $30 million contract extension until the 2024-25 season (player option).
Facing the Warriors and Stephen Curry in the playoffs last season, the Nuggets' guard line was completely unstoppable, forcing Coach Malone to even use Aaron Gordon to match Curry. The addition of Pope allowed the Nuggets to make up for the last shortcoming.
Championship experience, efficient and quality defense, quality three-pointers, Pope's own characteristics perfectly match the needs of today's Nuggets.
And around Mr. Yo today, Pope is also like LeBron's side, naturally has more and better empty seats than others.
His 10.8 points per game this season may not seem like much, but his three-point shooting percentage is a career-high 42.3%, and his Victory Contribution (WS) exceeds that of his championship season with the Lakers.
Especially in the playoffs, his experience and play have helped the Nuggets bite the game and even save the game.
He scored 21 points in the battle against the Suns, laying the groundwork for the Nuggets to eventually eliminate the Suns.
Against his old club Lakers, when he was targeted by the referee in the third game, he scored 12 points in the third quarter to carry the Lakers' counterattack.
In the fourth game of sending off the Lakers, he scored 13 points on 3-of-7 three-point shooting, allowing Staples' basket to feel his precision again.
So far, he has not been the Nuggets' biggest star, and Mr. Joe has received much more applause and cheers than he has.
Nor is he the Nuggets' sharpest knife, and Murray's shots from beyond the three-point line are more accurate and deadly.
Even compared to Gordon and Porter Jr., his contributions are not as impressive, but as a 3D with an annual salary of $14 million, you can hardly ask him to do better.
Defending, running, interspersing, and three-point is his job, and it's something that someone on every good team has to do.
From Robert Horry to Steve Cole, to Danny Green and now Pope, the legend of the "Champion Hunter" continues.