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Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope survived a dangerous incident on June 17. TMZ reported Caldwell-Pope was robbed at gunpoint while talking with some friends in his driveway.
“Law enforcement sources tell us it all went down on June 17 … when the Lakers guard was in his driveway at around 4 a.m. talking with friends,” TMZ detailed. “Our sources say a car pulled up and three men then exited the vehicle with guns drawn. We’re told the men demanded KCP and his friends hand over their stuff … which included a fancy Rolex watch, jewelry and an iPhone. In total, our sources say the thieves made off with about $150,000 worth of loot. We’re told KCP was NOT injured in the incident, however.”
The good news is Caldwell-Pope was not injured in the incident. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the crime to find the individuals who robbed Caldwell-Pope, per TMZ.
KCP Was Part of a Viral Moment During the Playoffs After LeBron Encouraged Him to Shoot
The Lakers season did not end the way most expected, but there was one moment that could impact Caldwell-Pope’s career for the better. After passing up a shot against the Suns in the postseason, LeBron James was seen yelling at Caldwell-Pope, encouraging him to keep shooting the ball.
“That meant a lot to me,” Caldwell-Pope said, per Silver Screen and Roll. “He’s one of the leaders on the team, he’s a guy I look up to, one of my big brothers, so it meant a lot. Me and Bron, we’ve been through a lot. I know he wants me to shoot the ball. Regardless of how many I miss, just continue to shoot.”
Caldwell-Pope Still Has 2 Years Remaining on His Contract
Caldwell-Pope averaged 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 67 starts for the Lakers this season. The guard was one of the few Lakers who gave the team shooting as Caldwell-Pope went 41% from behind the three-point line. Caldwell-Pope still has two seasons remaining on a three-year, $39.1 million contract.
The guard is one of the few Lakers players under contract for next season. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka expressed a desire to keep the team’s core group together heading into the 2021-22 season.
“I’m convinced that, again, without some of the unforeseen circumstances this year, the challenges that we had to face, that we’d be a championship-caliber team,” Pelinka noted, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “So the goal is to try to keep that core group together.”
Despite Pelinka’s comments, Caldwell-Pope along with Kyle Kuzma are sure to be the subject of trade rumors this offseason as two of the few tradeable contracts on the roster. James echoed Pelinka’s comments wondering what the Lakers could accomplish if they were fully healthy.
“The season started so fast after leaving the bubble obviously,” James explained after the Lakers were eliminated, via Sky Sports. “I think I was talking to Wes [Matthews] in the locker room. The one thing that bothers me more than anything is we never got an opportunity to see our team at full strength because of injury, because of COVID, or because of something going on with our ball club this year. We could never fully get into a rhythm and never see the full potential of what we were capable of. We obviously fell short of our goal but we tried to do everything to be as good as we could be under the circumstances.”
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