Just six days remain before the deadline for 2013 first-round draft picks to sign a contract extension with their respective teams, and Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope still has yet to do so. Now we may know why.
According to a report by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday, Caldwell-Pope is rumored to be looking for deal worth over $20 million annually to re-up with the Pistons. The problem is that a deal of that magnitude is likely to take Detroit over the luxury tax threshold.
The 23-year-old Caldwell-Pope makes for an interesting case. He’s developed into a borderline-elite one-on-one defender, but he’s never reached the 15-point-per-game mark in his three years in the league so far, nor has he shot 35 percent or better from three in a single season.
The potential for a Caldwell-Pope breakout in 2016-17 is enormous, particularly with Reggie Jackson on the shelf because of a knee injury. But the Pistons for the most part must base their decision on what the University of Georgia product has already showed them.
It’s worth noting that Caldwell-Pope is represented by Rich “The Money Whisperer” Paul and that the market for middle-tier shooting guards is booming (Evan Fournier got a five-year, $85 million extension from the Magic this offseason, while Evan Turner landed four years, $70 million from the Blazers, to name a couple). But it just seems unlikely that Detroit is willing to tie up their entire cap on this core of players, meaning that we may have to prepare for Caldwell-Pope to hit restricted free agency this summer.
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