Veteran wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is negotiating a buyout with the Grizzlies and plans to join his former teammate LeBron James with the Sixers once he becomes a free agent, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
While Haynes didn’t specify what type of contract Caldwell-Pope will sign with Philadelphia, the team can only offer the veteran’s minimum. Assuming he receives a one-year deal, the 33-year-old would earn $3.88MM on his new contract, while the Sixers would carry a $2.45MM cap hit. He could end up giving up a similar amount to the Grizzlies in his buyout agreement.
Haynes reported at the start of July that Caldwell-Pope and Memphis were likely to part ways this summer. The Grizzlies have traded Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant since acquiring Caldwell-Pope a year ago and are pivoting toward a youth movement.
The Grizzlies are also facing a roster crunch and decided to go in a different direction rather than retain Caldwell-Pope’s $21.62MM expiring contract into the season.
Caldwell-Pope was the Magic’s big free agent signing of the 2024 offseason, but his production fell off during his first year in Orlando on the heels of a successful two-year stint in Denver that saw him play a starting role for a championship team.
A 40.3% three-point shooter over the course of the previous five seasons before joining the Magic, Caldwell-Pope made 34.2% of his threes and averaged just 8.7 PPG in 2024/25, then was sent from Orlando to Memphis in the Desmond Bane trade last summer.
Caldwell-Pope’s first season with the Grizzlies didn’t go much better, as he averaged 8.4 PPG on .410/.316/.913 shooting in 51 games (21.3 MPG). He underwent season-ending surgery in February to address a misalignment of his right pinky finger.
A two-time champion, Caldwell-Pope won his first title in 2020 with James and the Lakers as a key 3-and-D player. He spent four seasons in Los Angeles prior to being included in the ill-fated trade for Russell Westbrook in the 2021 offseason.
Caldwell-Pope is represented by Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who’s also the agent of James, Tyrese Maxey, Justin Edwards and Jabari Walker, per RealGM.
Caldwell-Pope was reportedly on Miami’s radar this offseason as well, having been linked multiple times to the Heat.
As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes (via Twitter), the 76ers don’t currently have enough room beneath their first-apron hard cap to finalize their reported deals with James and Caldwell-Pope. Dalen Terry (non-guaranteed contract) and Walker ($250K partial guarantee) could be the odd men out, though there are other ways to reduce payroll as well.
