Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Missed Cavs Game Due to Legal Matter, Could Miss More

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the Los Angeles Lakers' 121-112 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday at Quick Loans Arena because of a legal situation that could keep him away from the team for multiple games.                

Jeffrey Lance Abood, Caldwell-Pope's attorney, told ESPN in a statement Friday that his client's absence stemmed from when he allowed someone to operate his vehicle under the influence in March:

"While a member of the Detroit Pistons last year, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope plead guilty to a misdemeanor offense of allowing someone to operate his vehicle under the influence. As a condition of that plea, he was subject to extremely strict and challenging compliance terms by the court. Kentavious complied with most of the terms of his probation and he has had no further driving or other infractions since that time.

"As a result of his professional basketball work schedule, the court has modified the sentence and released him from probation early so long as he completes an intensive program over the next 25 days. There will be some travel restrictions , but we are pleased that Kentavious will now continue with his NBA season and move forward in a positive manner from this experience."

Caldwell-Pope pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of allowing a person to drive under the influence in May after he was originally arrested and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. 

The NBA suspended Caldwell-Pope for the first two games of the 2017-18 season without pay because of his March arrest. 

The Lakers signed Caldwell-Pope to a one-year contract in July after he spent the first four years of his career with the Detroit Pistons. A first-round pick in 2013 at No. 8 overall, he is averaging 14.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in Los Angeles.