One might think that the Los Angeles Lakers would tiptoe around starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as he serves out a 25-day jail sentence as a result of violating his probation stemming from a previous offense.
Caldwell-Pope reportedly missed several drug and alcohol screenings, absences that adversely affected his sentencing and helped result in him serving 25 days in the Seal Beach Police Department Detention Center. He is allowed to leave for in-state Lakers practices and games as part of a work-release program.
Despite the seemingly sensitive subject, however, Andrew Bogut said the Lakers haven’t let the the freshness of Caldwell-Pope’s situation stop them from giving him a hard time about it, via told Bill Oram of the Southern California News Group:
How have the Lakers responded to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s jail sentence and travel restrictions?
“Just nonstop giving him shit about it,” Andrew Bogut said. “Honestly. Everyone’s asking him what his jail cell’s like and just quotes from the Eddie Murphy movie, ‘Life.’”
— Bill Oram-pum-pum-PUN (@billoram) December 23, 2017
Caldwell-Pope’s situation isn’t a joke. Allowing someone to drive his car under the influence is a serious infraction, as is Caldwell-Pope failing to fulfill the terms of his probation. Both of which he’ll have to learn lessons from if he wants to continue his NBA career.
So while Caldwell-Pope’s situation might be a serious one, it’s also not really surprising that his teammates aren’t treating him with kid gloves. Anyone who has ever stepped into a locker room knows that ribbing each other is often the way teammates bond, a way to display affection without outwardly expressing it.
In fact, the Lakers giving Caldwell-Pope a hard time and keeping things as normal as possible might actually help the veteran guard deal with his situation. Keeping things light could help him get a dose of normalcy as he continues to serve out the remainder of his jail time and (hopefully) learn from his mistakes.
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