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, 2.5 rebounds and 21.3 minutes last season for the Grizzlies in 51 games with 14 starts, 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 league’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.