Grizzlies, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Likely To Part Ways

Caldwell-Pope was the Magic’s big free agent signing of the 2024 offseason, but his production fell off during his first year in Orlando on the heels of a successful two-year stint in Denver that saw him play a starting role for a championship team.

A 40.3% three-point shooter over the course of the previous five seasons before joining the Magic, Caldwell-Pope made 34.2% of his threes and averaged just 8.7 PPG in 2024/25, then was sent from Orlando to Memphis in the Desmond Bane trade last summer.

Caldwell-Pope’s first season with the Grizzlies didn’t go much better, as he averaged 8.4 PPG on .410/.316/.913 shooting in 51 games (21.3 MPG). Memphis has traded Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant since acquiring Caldwell-Pope a year ago and is pivoting toward a youth movement, so it makes sense that the team is exploring ways to move off his $21.6MM expiring contract and open up a spot on its roster.

A three-and-D shooting guard who won titles with both the Lakers and Nuggets, Caldwell-Pope is still just 33 years old and could appeal to a team in need of depth on the wing. While a trade will be difficult given his sizable cap hit, maybe he’d be willing to give up a little money in a buyout agreement if his representatives are able to line up a new deal for him elsewhere.

For what it’s worth, Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link) reported earlier today that the Lakers are in the market for a wing defender and are exploring the market to see what they can find with only the veteran’s minimum to offer.