When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a one-year, $18 million contract over the summer, it was with the knowledge that he would miss the first two games of the season to serve a suspension for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Then, after Caldwell-Pope missed the Lakers’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was revealed that he couldn’t leave California for 25 days as part of a court arrangement stemming from his misdemeanor offense of allowing someone to operate his vehicle under the influence when he was still on the Detroit Pistons last March.
Now it’s been revealed that Caldwell-Pope is not simply limited from leaving the state, but he’s actually serving jail time with a work release agreement because of a violation of his probation, according to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times:
The 24-year-old is serving his sentence in the Seal Beach Police Department Detention Center and, under a work-release program, is being allowed to leave the facility for games and practices, according to court and jail officials and court documents.
As part of his bond, he was required to refrain from alcohol and controlled substances and submit to and pay for random drug testing. Court records show Caldwell-Pope missed several drug and alcohol screenings, which affected his sentence.
Caldwell-Pope, who is averaging 14.2 point, 5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 34.8 minutes per game while shooting 35.5 percent from three, missed the Lakers road win against the Houston Rockets Wednesday night as he continues to serve his sentence.
He will rejoin the team Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, but then miss road games against the Rockets on Dec. 23, and Jan. 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The team has so far started rookie guard Josh Hart in Caldwell-Pope’s absence, although Lakers head coach Luke Walton has previously said the team will miss Caldwell-Pope’s presence on both ends of the court.
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