Lakers News: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope May Miss Additional Games Due To Legal Issue

Matthew Moreno
3 Min Read
Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

In their biggest move during free agency this past summer, the Los Angeles Lakers doled out $18 million to sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who’d spent the previous four seasons with the Detroit Pistons after being selected by the team eighth overall in the 2013 NBA Draft.

While Caldwell-Pope received a lucrative salary, the salary-cap-minded Lakers took advantage of what had been a slow market for the shooting guard and inked him to a one-year contract. Caldwell-Pope was added with the notion of providing some experience to a roster laced with rookies.

In addition, he’s emerged as one of the team’s steady shooters, an area the Lakers have otherwise been deficient in. But as they concluded a four-game road trip on Thursday, Caldwell-Pope was absent.

The Lakers announced he wouldn’t play and was not with the team because of personal reasons. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne , that was a result of a change in his sentencing from a previous legal matter:

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the team’s game in Cleveland on Thursday in order to comply with a modified sentence stemming from a misdemeanor offense of allowing someone to operate his vehicle under the influence while a member of the Detroit Pistons in March, his attorney told ESPN.

Caldwell-Pope was required to return to California to begin a 25-day program that will result in travel restrictions and could cause him to miss additional games.

Rookie Josh Hart was pressed into the lineup as a result of Caldwell-Pope being unavailable. Hart set career highs with 11 points and 10 rebounds in what was also his first double-double.

Speaking after the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lakers head coach Luke Walton said he anticipated Caldwell-Pope would rejoin and practice with the team over the weekend in the Los Angeles. That remains the expectation.

The league previously suspended Caldwell-Pope for the first two games of the season under the personal conduct policy. While the 24-year-old may miss additional time, that would only be in the short term — or within the next 25 days as Caldwell-Pope completes the program.

He’s averaging 14.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while shooting a career-best 36.1 percent from behind the 3-point line.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com