Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Contract: News, Rumors on Negotiations with Pistons
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is entering his fourth NBA season, which makes him eligible to sign a new contract with the team if the two sides can agree on terms.
Saturday, Sept. 24
According to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, Pistons general manager Jeff Bower said the team has opened up discussions with Caldwell-Pope and his representatives about a possible long-term extension.
“We’ll probably continue to take those talks a little bit further through the month and see if there’s an opportunity to reach an extension now and if we can, that will be great for both of us,” Bower said, via Ellis.
A first-round pick in 2013, Caldwell-Pope has two years left on his rookie contract that will pay him roughly $8.6 million total, per HoopsHype.com.
As a fourth-year player, Caldwell-Pope would have to agree to an extension before October 31.
Now is the perfect time to be a young, budding star in the NBA seeking a new contract. The league salary cap for 2016-17 is a record $94.143 million, with a projected $102 million cap for the 2017-18 season.
Ellis reported in July that the Pistons and Caldwell-Pope had preliminary talks on an extension but decided to put discussions off until later in the summer.
Last month, per Ellis, speculation about Caldwell-Pope's next contract indicates it could take at least $20 million per season to make a deal.
Caldwell-Pope has the leverage in any contract talks. He had his best season in 2015-16, averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. He was also worth 5.3 win shares, per Basketball-Reference.com.
The Pistons are building a strong core of young talent, led by Caldwell-Pope and Andre Drummond, so investing in those players to lead the franchise into the future would be a smart move.
No comments