The deal officially marks the end of Caldwell-Pope’s tenure in Detroit, which began in 2014 when the Pistons drafted the shooting guard.
LAS VEGAS — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gets another year to bet on himself.
Caldwell-Pope reportedly has landed with the Los Angeles Lakers, five days after the Detroit Pistons pulled his qualifying offer and traded for Avery Bradley
ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst was first to report the one-year, $18 million agreement late Tuesday night.
The deal officially marks the end of Caldwell-Pope’s tenure in Detroit, which began in 2013 when the Pistons used the eighth pick of the NBA draft on the 6-foot-5 Georgia shooting guard.
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Caldwell-Pope, 24, became a restricted free agent in October when the Pistons and agents Rich Paul and Mark Termini failed to reach an agreement before the deadline. A person with firsthand knowledge of the situation told the Free Press that a four-year, $80-million offer was turned down by Caldwell-Pope.
Caldwell-Pope, who became an unrestricted free agent when the Pistons pulled his qualifying offer, played well this season until receiving a vicious pick from Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia, which caused Caldwell-Pope to miss four games with a shoulder injury.
He struggled the rest of the way, but the Pistons extended a $4.9 million qualifying offer with the intention of negotiating a new deal when the free agency moratorium began July 1.
But a deal didn’ t materialize, and the Pistons signed combo guard Langston Galloway and later traded Marcus Morris to the Boston Celtics for Bradley.
With the drafting of Duke shooting guard Luke Kennard, the Pistons viewed Caldwell-Pope as expendable and they rescinded the qualifying offer.
Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.
