Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Finger Surgery) Out For Season

The news doesn’t come as a surprise, as Memphis revealed on Wednesday that Caldwell-Pope would have the procedure. The shooting guard is expected to make a full recovery before next season begins, per the team.

Caldwell-Pope, who was acquired from Orlando last summer in the Desmond Bane trade, made 51 appearances in ’25/26 for the Grizzlies, averaging 8.4 points, 2.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game. His shooting line was .410/.316/.913.

The 33-year-old was a quality 3-and-D contributor for several years, winning a pair of championships (with the Lakers in 2020 and the Nuggets in 2023) as a key role player. However, his production has fallen off the past seasons, particularly from behind the arc — he shot 38.9% from three-point range in the seven seasons leading up to 2024/25, but has converted just 33.3% of his outside looks since.

Caldwell-Pope has been remarkably durable throughout his career, never missing more than eight games in a season until now. He holds a $21.6MM player option for ’26/27 that he’s essentially a lock to exercise.

The Grizzlies, who have been hit hard by injuries all season long, will likely only have nine players active for Friday’s game at Utah (Twitter link).

Caldwell-Pope, Ja Morant (left elbow UCL sprain), Santi Aldama (right knee injury management), Brandon Clarke (right calf strain), Zach Edey (left ankle stress reaction), Cedric Coward (hyperextended right knee), Ty Jerome (right calf injury management) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (left great toe injury management) are all out, while rookie guard Walter Clayton is doubtful to suit up due to a right calf contusion.

As Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes (subscriber link), head coach Tuomas Iisaslo provided injury updates on Coward and Aldama on Wednesday. Neither player was able to practice yesterday, and while Coward is said to be making progress, the prognosis for Aldama — who missed eight of the team’s last nine games leading up to the All-Star break — is murky.

“We want to get it to a baseline,” Iisalo said of Aldama’s right knee issue. “We spent those few games trying to go a little bit back and forth and it flared up every time.”