Way back in April, as Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope talked to the media on Zoom about the state of the team and when their injured stars might be back during a road practice in a swampy high school gym in Tampa Bay, Florida, two-way player Devontae Cacok could be seen where he’s existed for nearly the entirety of his Lakers tenure: In the background, going about his business behind a teammate the world was paying more attention to.
For Cacok, this is nothing new. The relatively anonymous, undersized and undrafted sophomore center may have won an NBA championship during his first year with the Lakers, but he’s hardly been anywhere near the focus of the team or its fans as the organization competes for titles.