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NBA -- 06/20 10:48
Memphis Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is exercising his $21.6 million player option for the 2026-27 season, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Friday. A two-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets , Caldwell-Pope underwent surgery to address a misalignment on his right pinkie finger in February and missed the last 31 games of the season. Caldwell-Pope, 33, averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 21.3 minutes over 51 games (14 starts) last season for the Grizzlies, shooting 49.5% on 2-point field goals and 31.6% from 3-point range. The veteran averaged his fewest minutes and points last season since his rookie year.
Caldwell-Pope's player option marks the final year of a three-year, $66 million contract for the veteran, who joined the Grizzlies from the Orlando Magic last summer as part of the Desmond Bane trade. Caldwell-Pope had been one of the NBA's proven 3-and-D players, but his 3-point shooting percentage hasn't been better than 34.2% over the past two seasons after hitting at least 39% from deep in each of his previous four seasons before 2024-25. ESPN's Michael C. Wright contributed to this report.
Read on the web: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49120723/sources-caldwell-pope-opts-216-million-deal-grizzlies
Stringer Sports -- straight from the wire.