Top Potential Landing Spots for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2017 NBA Free Agency

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been freed from the thorns of NBA restricted free agency.

The Detroit Pistons renounced their rights to the former No. 8 pick following Friday's trade for Avery Bradley, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Just like that, Caldwell-Pope vaulted to the top of the unrestricted free-agent rankings.

That should help him gain more suitors since he now holds complete control of this decision. But he's fighting against time, as clubs have had a full week to spend their cap space elsewhere.

He'll still find a demand for his services after establishing himself as a disruptive defender and capable complementary scorer (at least 12.7 points per game each of the last three seasons). And at 24 years old, he can appeal to both forward-thinking rebuilders and win-now hopefuls.

The following seven squads should all be involved with KCP's modified venture into the open market.

Atlanta Hawks

Sam Forencich/Getty Images

The Atlanta Hawks spent the last two years gutting their roster. They weren't about to rush anything this late in the process, preferring a calm and calculated approach to the open market.

"We are not going to be the first people out of the gate making deals at 12:01 (a.m.)," general manager Travis Schlenk told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before free agency opened. "We are going to see where the market goes."

Well, the market went wild for their restricted free agent Tim Hardaway Jr. The New York Knicks inked him to a four-year, $71 million offer sheet, which the Hawks have already informed them they will not match, sources told The Vertical's Shams Charania.

With Caldwell-Pope, a Georgia native, now an unrestricted free agent, Atlanta's patience could pay off.

The Hawks are short on assets, and he holds obvious appeal with defensive versatility and three-point potential. He's still a work in progress at both ends—to be fair, it's not like the Pistons have earned high developmental marks of late—but he has a three-and-D floor, plus a blossoming off-the-dribble game.

Caldwell-Pope has a chance to be what Atlanta wagered $70 million on Kent Bazemore becoming. Caldwell-Pope could provide needed spacing to help coach Mike Budenholzer's offense flow, while the defensive potential of him, Dennis Schroder and Taurean Prince along the perimeter would be tremendous.

Brooklyn Nets

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets were linked with Caldwell-Pope before the market even opened, per ESPN's Marc Stein. Now that he's available to the highest bidder, they plan to be "an aggressive pursuer," sources told Wojnarowski.

With the Washington Wizards having matched Otto Porter Jr.'s max offer from Brooklyn, according to the Washington Post's Candace Buckner, Caldwell-Pope doesn't need to wait for the Nets' deep pockets to open back up.

Any young asset looks attractive to this rebuilder, but the interest here is more specific to Caldwell-Pope's skills.

The Nets want to be three-point gunners (fourth in attempts this past season), but they lack the marksmen (26th in percentage). Caldwell-Pope isn't a dead-eye sniper, but he did just post personal bests in perimeter makes (2.0 per game) and accuracy (35.0 percent). He'd also help revive Brooklyn's 23rd-ranked defense and allow D'Angelo Russell to handle the easier backcourt assignment.

Adding Caldwell-Pope could mean dismantling the Russell-Jeremy Lin backcourt sooner rather than later, but that pairing was never assured a lengthy shelf life.

"The Nets would be wise to start preparing for the post-Lin era on a young team," Brian Lewis of the New York Post wrote. "Lin, who is making a reasonable $12 million annually, turns 29 next month and can opt out of the third and final year of his deal in 2018."

Chicago Bulls

Chris Schwegler/Getty Images

On first glance, the Chicago Bulls appear to have major roadblocks between them and Caldwell-Pope. But a closer examination reveals them to be small hurdles, at most.

For instance, shooting guard isn't an obvious need. The Bulls have three former lottery picks already at the position, including one set to make $23.8 million. But that player is Dwyane Wade, a 35-year-old who could be a prime buyout candidate. And the others are a player who tore his ACL in February (Zach LaVine) and a sophomore-to-be who can play all three perimeter positions (Denzel Valentine).

Not to mention, all three of those players do their best work at the offensive end. Plus, position redundancy isn't much of a concern anymore. When Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has his system in place, the parts are interchangeable. Caldwell-Pope could fit in fine, even if he made the on-paper depth chart look lopsided.

There's also a question of whether the rebuilding Bulls should even be shopping in free agency. The answer is no with most players, but a 24-year-old up-and-comer fits the exceptions.

"If there was a young player who we thought fit our future, we would certainly look at that," vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Caldwell-Pope was born the same year as Valentine. This would be another way to brighten the future, and it wouldn't dim Chicago's lottery odds or prove too burdensome on the mostly clean financial books.

Los Angeles Lakers

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

The perpetually star-gazing Los Angeles Lakers treat free agency a little differently than most. While they could have "significant interest" in Caldwell-Pope, as sources told Wojnarowski, the attraction goes well beyond the potential on-court impact of the signing, Wojnarowski explained:

"(He's) obviously a good, young two-way player, shares the same agent as LeBron James—Rich Paul. As the Lakers' pursuit of LeBron James heats up, they bring in someone who's part of Klutch Sports, and the one thing that I think anybody knows if you're going to get at LeBron James, you need a roster of two-way players.

"They could potentially sign him at a high number for one year, create more cap space next year, re-sign him to an extension as the Lakers try to pursue Paul George [and] LeBron James."

Sign Caldwell-Pope, get James and George later? Where does president of basketball operations Magic Johnson sign up?

OK, it's probably not that simple. But that's fine. If Caldwell-Pope would take a bloated one-year pact—the Lakers aren't offering anything longer this summer—he could wind up finding a long-term home in L.A.

There's a vacancy in the opening backcourt alongside Lonzo Ball, and the job listing for it has defensive malleability and off-ball comfort as requirements. Caldwell-Pope checks both boxes, and he'd fit with both the young nucleus on hand and the superstar veterans on the wish list.

Orlando Magic

Brian Sevald/Getty Images

Despite coming off a 53-loss season and sitting trapped in a five-year playoff drought, the Orlando Magic aren't scrambling to course-correct in free agency.

"We've really looked to take a kind of long-view, cautious approach," president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said, per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. "... When I say 'being cautious,' I think we're trying to read the market, trying to understand where the market becomes a value proposition and enter it at that stage."

Opportunity is knocking with Caldwell-Pope now unencumbered on the open market. And even though the Magic would need to solve some financial puzzles before putting forth a formidable offer, the process is worth exploring for this desultory franchise.

Orlando's roster lacks balance. Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo cannot play together—minus-7.1 points per 100 possessions—but they'll make a combined $29.2 million each of the next two seasons. The wings are light on shooting and defense, and it's fair to start asking if former No. 5 pick Mario Hezonja will be a colossal bust.

Still, the Magic may finally be forming its post-Dwight Howard identity around the length, athleticism and defensive versatility of Aaron Gordon and rookie Jonathan Isaac. Caldwell-Pope would be another defensive weapon at coach Frank Vogel's disposal and a boost to the Association's second-worst three-point attack.

Philadelphia 76ers

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Caldwell-Pope started his summer on the Philadelphia 76ers' radar. Before they landed JJ Redick, a source told RealGM's Keith Smith they were mulling offer sheets to Caldwell-Pope and/or Porter as backup plans.

But the fact Redick will spend next season in Philly shouldn't stop the Sixers from pursuing Caldwell-Pope. He fits the chronological arc of The Process' biggest prizes, and he would continue to elevate their two-way ceiling—if Philly makes the necessary cuts to place a respectable bid.

"Sixers to me should do everything they can to clear space for KCP," Dunc'd On podcast host Nate Duncan tweeted. "I'd even dump [Jahlil] Okafor/Nik [Stauskas] for nothing, stretch the newly signed [Amir] Johnson."

The Sixers likely wouldn't jump through that many hoops, but the sentiment stands. It's rare a non-bust top-10 pick reaches the market this quickly, and when they do, clubs with as much talent as Philadelphia seems to have can't often afford them.

But a perfect storm has made this union possible, and the Sixers might want to pounce on a long-term free-agency investment while so many of their key contributors are on rookie deals. Okafor and Stauskas aren't keepers anyway, so they'd be easily discarded. And it's possible Caldwell-Pope would envision Philly as having the highest floor and ceiling of his suitors, which could put it atop his list.

Caldwell-Pope would ease the defensive transition of Markelle Fultz, while benefitting from the playmaking abilities of the last two top picks. Caldwell-Pope cashed 37.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot triples last season without having the gravitational pull these youngsters should demand. He'd also be another long, agile defender for a group that has the tools to be ferocious.

Utah Jazz

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Remember the agonizing wait for Gordon Hayward to make—and then blog about—his free-agency decision? Well, it's taken a lot longer for the Utah Jazz to decide how they'll pivot from the defection of their lone All-Star.

Caldwell-Pope is far from the ideal option. The Jazz would prefer to find a combo forward "if they add anyone," according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Shooting guards are particularly tricky since one could force Rodney Hood out of position and potentially block lottery pick Donovan Mitchell. Chasing Caldwell-Pope would also likely require a financial cut or two.

But if the Jazz hope to remain competitive—Ricky Rubio was a win-now addition, and Rudy Gobert was the Defensive Player of the Year silver medalist—then adding Caldwell-Pope would follow the best-player-available strategy. He and Hood could defend the wings well enough together, and if Mitchell struggles to see the floor, that would mean Caldwell-Pope's play was keeping him off it.

Utah's present hopes are tied to the strength of its third-ranked defense. The unit is already elite, but a Rubio-KCP backcourt could give it upward mobility. And that's before playing around with other combinations involving the long-limbed tandem of Mitchell and Dante Exum.

Of course, the Jazz must be top-shelf stoppers because offense could be a grind. They need more off-the-bounce scoring threats, and Caldwell-Pope wouldn't help much in that regard.

But he might make them better at what they do best. That should get him a look from Salt Lake City, even if it's a long-shot destination.

Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference or NBA.com. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.

Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.