How high are you on KCP? Expectations?

[313 Professor]

I like KCP. Great 2-3 3&D guy. Smooth, hustles, strokes it. He isn't much of a ball-handler or finisher in traffic though. Playing off some better ball handling this year with us hopefully having Jennings, RJ, Stanley, and Spencer and better spacing all year hopefully barring injuries could be perfect for him. I expect 39+% from 3 from him this year primarily...

How high are you on him? 1-10? I give him a solid 6.5 for being a solid Danny Green type contributor on a winning team and I like him as a piece... every team in the league could use a KCP.

Btw... if you want to use the .5's like me there are 2 options per user if you need them No I don't have a rating for every player in the league on a 1-10 scale so don't be petty thanks

[princeofpalace]

Prior to the 2012 draft, I was one of the few people on the draft KCP bandwagon at a time when KCP wasnt even projected as a lottery pick. I had initially thought he had all star potential but, am revising my prediction down to solid starter. I think he is a solid role playing SG who has been inconsistent offensively thus far in his career and solid defensively. Next season, I hope to see him become more consistent instead of having wild swings where he has a great 5 games followed by a horrible 10.

Something that is concerning to me is that in the last 4 years, KCP has only had a good shooting percentages in 1 year (his 2nd year of college). That combined with this low FT shooting percentage suggests to me that he will not be a great shooter in this league. If he can continue to make strides to his defense and become more consistently good on offense I think he can be an Arron Afflalo caliber SG. If he remains where he is now, he belongs on the bench.

KCP (and really every Piston) is moveable to me in the right deal, hes a good piece but not a cornerstone.

[theBigLip]

I gave him an 8 - not that he is there right now, but that's what I'm hoping for. If he keeps working, he should be a solid starter, and if we're lucky, he could become an elite SG. He's athletic enough, he has a shot, can play D, so he has all the tools. He just needs to keep working hard and getting better. He could even be a fringe All Star - I would say All Star (team, not All Star starter) is his ceiling.

[mattao313]

I agree with you 313 I think he will be like Danny Green but not as good 3pt shooting (i think around 37%). Hopefully he can score 13pts on 42% FG% 37% 3pts.

Edit: I picked 7&8 cause I guess thats good starter.

[vic]

I give him 8.5.
He's going to set him self apart with his energy and defense.
He won't shoot quite like Klay Thompson but he'll give the hustle plays, blocks, dunks and steals that Klay won't give.

In terms of shooting guards, he won't be a superstar but he will be top 10 at his position when all is said and done (not because he's a top 10 scorer with the ball in his hands half the game like James Harden) but because of the whole package= defense, energy, scoring, shooting, with low turnovers.

He'll be what I call a super-role player, somewhere between Aaron Afflalo and Klay Thompson.

[Kilo]

HUGE year for him this year - 3rd year, second year under Stan Van Gundy so there is continuity in coaching approach there and he knows what Stan wants going into this season. I think he could be a very good 3&D player for us, but I still think in his mind he's a #1 option scoring guard - and I don't know if that will ever change for him, not at least here and certainly not until he gets his chance at free agency where he's a client of Rich Paul (LeBron's buddy ol'pal) and thus will be looking to get paid, and he wouldn't accept a lesser role here and now as it would hurt his earning power in free agency then.

[thesack12]

4

Ok player, but nothing particularly special or valuable. He's very replaceable. If you evaluate him solely to his draft class, he's better than most. But evaluating him on a whole him puts him as that Ok player.

His defensive ability and overall effort level makes him useful. However, he isn't real great on the offensive side of the ball. He isn't much of a ball handler, not a good creator for himself or others, not much of a slasher, and his shot is incredibly erratic. Really you can only hope that his spot up shooting will be on that night, and we all know you can't count on that. He MIGHT stabilize his shot at some point, but he hasn't shown anything to lead one to believe that if his shot does eventually stabilize that he will be one of the better shooters in the league.

KCP is better than Jodie Meeks, but that isn't saying a lot because Meeks provides NOTHING but spot up shooting (and he isn't too dazzling in that department.) SG isn't a strong point of this team. Pope is in the Tony Allen mold, albeit he will be a better shooter than Allen but probably won't provide the same overall defensive impact that Allen does. That type of player has value, but more so to a team with a ball dominant superstar. He'd be an ideal SG for OKC.

[tmorgan]

I went with 6, which means to me a slightly above-average SG. I think that's a reasonable expectation. Sure, he could provide more than that, but I don't expect it.

Hard worker, but doesn't seem like a particularly smart player. Great athlete, but not a great basketball athlete (handles and touch need some work). Good guy, but certainly not a leader type.

He's fun to watch. I hope his defense continues to improve, because I love his once-a-game pick off a bad cross-court pass and take it down for a dunk. His offense, though -- geesch. I don't mind the "no conscience" part, because it's SVG and his teammates that need to rein that in, but his shooting slumps are just killer painful.

If he does step it up somehow and scores say 15 ppg on 44/37 with even better defense, it's going to make a big difference.

(just looked as his stats again from last year... dude didn't even shoot 70% from the line? yikes.)

Not part of the core in my mind. Needs to earn it with better play.

[whitehops]

I don't know how good he will be but he has good tools and I really liked the way he progressed throughout last season. I hope he can be a wes Matthews-type player by the end of his rookie contract.

[Redeemed]

His defense and energy makes him a potential stopper in the league. With the stability of a strong system and a consistent coaching philosophy KCP is going to be special. He's an 8.5 for me.

[ImHeisenberg]

Gave him a 6. I think his ceiling is a very solid starter on a playoff team. He's never going to be a star in the NBA, but he's capable of going off for 20+ point games here and there. Plus, he puts a lot of effort into his defense.

[coordinator0]

Caldwell-Pope's ceiling is most likely a 3&D shooting guard. He's not going to be a part of the core but good teams still need players like him. His game still seems to be improving although I don't think he will ever do much more on offensive besides shooting. Even though Caldwell-Pope doesn't have much in the way of handles he doesn't run it over too often either so that's nice.

I'll give him a seven, which is my rating for a solid player in that mold. Eights and nines need to be more dynamic on both sides of the ball in my opinion. Tens are obviously superstars. If what Johnson showed in summer league translates to actual NBA games then those two make a fairly good pairing.

[bstein14]

His peak IMO is Aaron Afflalo... a great role player on a good playoff team... perhaps the 3rd or 4th guy in the starting lineup. Or he could be a 2nd scoring option on a .500 type ball club, or the #1 option on a lottery team scoring 20 a night with reduced efficiency.

He's ideally a solid 3 and D guy who scores 12 to 13 a night as the guy teams don't really plan for when they talk about how to defend your team.

If we had an elite post player, or wing player at the SF spot who got a lot of attention I think KCP could be a better, more efficient scorer at SG but its been tough on him so far because he hasn't really had teammates that draw a ton of attention from the defense.

[tmorgan]

That's one of the reason I like Stanimal's fit... he looks like (in the future) he'll be able to provide the ball-handling and passing that KCP can't, leaving KCP to focus on hitting open shots, driving on hard closeouts, and playing great defense.

[Billl]

I gave him a 7. He needs to show a lot more consistency offensively, but he's a pretty solid all-around player.

[joedumars1]

A 7. Hoping for 15-17ppg this year.

[zeebneeb]

Now I rated KCP at a 9, and I'll explain. I place almost no value on scoring, at first. For example, if this list said James Harden, I would rate him a 4. I see very little value with him as a player. I would take a player like Jeff Green, or KCP over him, in a heartbeat, as I believe in a true team concept, not one player, shooting a ton, and playing zero defense.

Very few players show the type of instinct that KCP does on defense, and more then anyone of them, it's never giving up on a play. He is one of the best shot blocking SG 's in the league (both him and Green are similar in that capacity) I place defense first, when rating a player. Team play second, and offensive versatility third. Fourth is actual scoring prowess.

KCP is an excellent defender for going into his third year, awesome instincts, so I place him in the top 5% in the league, at his position. Team play, I place him again, in the top 5% at his position. He doesn't have to score (the need)25 everynight, to get his, and will place his body on the line, to make a game saving block, steal, or loose ball. Great team player. Scoring versatility, I place him in the top 40%. He needs to work on getting into the lane, and creating for himself, but his pick and pop on the pick and roll is already advanced for his age. Seeing steady growth, and I love it. Scoring prowess I place him squarely in the bottom 30%, and most of that is inconsistencies within his game, and mostly due to age. Richard Hamilton made up for his defensive prowess, by being a very consistent scorer. I like to imagine KCP giving us 18-23 a night, with his outstanding defense, that's why the 9. I expect that from him, and if he delivers offensive consistancy, he can move out of my now 7.5, and move into that 9 range.

[313 Professor]

Now I rated KCP at a 9, and I'll explain. I place almost no value on scoring, at first. For example, if this list said James Harden, I would rate him a 4. I see very little value with him as a player. I would take a player like Jeff Green, or KCP over him, in a heartbeat, as I believe in a true team concept, not one player, shooting a ton, and playing zero defense.

Very few players show the type of instinct that KCP does on defense, and more then anyone of them, it's never giving up on a play. He is one of the best shot blocking SG 's in the league (both him and Green are similar in that capacity) I place defense first, when rating a player. Team play second, and offensive versatility third. Fourth is actual scoring prowess.

KCP is an excellent defender for going into his third year, awesome instincts, so I place him in the top 5% in the league, at his position. Team play, I place him again, in the top 5% at his position. He doesn't have to score (the need)25 everynight, to get his, and will place his body on the line, to make a game saving block, steal, or loose ball. Great team player. Scoring versatility, I place him in the top 40%. He needs to work on getting into the lane, and creating for himself, but his pick and pop on the pick and roll is already advanced for his age. Seeing steady growth, and I love it. Scoring prowess I place him squarely in the bottom 30%, and most of that is inconsistencies within his game, and mostly due to age. Richard Hamilton made up for his defensive prowess, by being a very consistent scorer. I like to imagine KCP giving us 18-23 a night, with his outstanding defense, that's why the 9. I expect that from him, and if he delivers offensive consistancy, he can move out of my now 7.5, and move into that 9 range.

This is interesting. A lot of the value depends on the role they're put in and if a coach can get them to buy into it. Harden doesn't have enough to get a team a title as the main guy I don't think without big help, but in a lesser role that allows him to spot up for 3 more and pick his spots to attack he is great. With a lower offensive usage rate I think he's a solid defender.

Swap out Harden with idk... Zach Randolph in MEM and I think that's a 9-9.5 super efficient star impact player. Having a non-chucking solid PG like Conley, and a legit scoring threat big with range that he can play off of would match his game very well. In Houston he's in a role over his head a bit. I can't say he's worse than KCP because of that but I see what you mean. I'd rather have KCP in his ideal role (at max potential & consistency), than Harden being our "do everything on offense guy" too. Thinking about efficiency come playoff time. The regular season calls Harden got were absolutely ridiculous and he almost got an MVP out of it. I had been telling friends all year he would fizzle out in the playoffs and he went out with a 12 TO 2 for 11 shooting BANG!

[guldakot]

I put him at what I project him to be based on his defensive upside, at an 8. Currently hes about a 5.5, but hes shown flashes of solid 8 pre-thigh injury last year. This is the year he should be able to it put it all together.

[Han Solo]

I'm pretty high man..

Oh wait, I thought you said PCP.. Woops.