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The Los Angeles Lakers had already enjoyed a solid offseason and figured to enter the 2017-18 season with Lonzo Ball, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and Brook Lopez in the starting lineup. Better still, they were guaranteed to have Josh Hart, Larry Nance Jr., Ivica Zubac and other promising players coming off the pine. 

Is that lineup ready to compete in the Western Conference? Much to LaVar Ball’s chagrin, it’s not. 

But it was a step in the right direction, and the Lakers weren’t yet done trying to upgrade their troops. 

According to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the team met with Rajon Rondo on Tuesday afternoon, but it can now only sign him to its $4.3 million room exception at best. That’s because, per ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst, Los Angeles is bringing in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on a one-year deal worth $18 million. 

Adding Rondo makes less sense for a Lakers team still trying to move up the standings. Not only has the passing wizard trended in the wrong direction since leaving the Boston Celtics and moving out of his prime, but he’d take touches away from Ball and the roster’s other guards. 

Nevertheless, they’re still trying. Per Wojnarowski, they’re looking into using their room exception and adding him to the ever-growing backcourt. 

Caldwell-Pope, however, is a phenomenal find. 

Though the 2-guard entered the offseason as a restricted free agent, the Detroit Pistons rescinded his qualifying offer after they acquired Avery Bradley from the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately for Caldwell-Pope, the market had grown barren by that point, failing to give him the long-term money his upside demands. 

Now, his cash comes in the form of a one-year contract, which gives the former Georgia Bulldog the opportunity to prove himself before hitting the open market again in 2018. This is his best chance at a massive financial windfall. 

Plus, the Lakers were missing a shooting guard. Ingram can slide down a position. Hart has upside on the wing. But they didn’t have anyone of Caldwell-Pope’s caliber, and acquiring him gives the organization positional bingo. 

Ball, Caldwell-Pope, Ingram and Randle could all eventually blossom into stars.