As if registering as one of the NBA’s biggest disappointments wasn’t causing enough problems for the Detroit Pistons.
Fourth-year wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was arrested early Wednesday morning following the team’s loss to the Miami Heat “on suspicion of drunken driving in Auburn Hills,” according to Derick Hutchinson of WDIV 4 Detroit. Here are the details:
Police said Caldwell-Pope was pulled over around 2:50 a.m. Wednesday on Auburn Road near Squirrel Road after being clocked driving 45 mph in a 25 mph zone.
The advanced roadside impairment officer said when he walked up to the car, he smelled alcohol. He put Caldwell-Pope through sobriety tests and placed him under arrest, police said.
Caldwell-Pope was “very cooperative” with the officer, authorities said. He was issued a ticket for DUI after a Breathalyzer test at the police station registered his blood-alcohol content at 0.08.
Rod Beard of The Detroit News added the following:
"The organization is aware of the situation," a team spokesperson texted to The News. No further comment. https://t.co/jIrGkP3IuG
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) March 31, 2017
Auburn Hills Police on #Pistons Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: “He was professional and cooperated with the officer, so there was no issue there”
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) March 31, 2017
This news comes almost immediately after the Pistons’ playoff chances took a major blow. They beat the Brooklyn Nets, just barely, on Thursday night to keep them alive, but they trail the eighth-place Indiana Pacers by three games in the loss column, with six games to play and the Chicago Bulls still in front of them.
Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, will be a restricted free agent this summer, at which time he is expected to field max or near-max offers. Three-and-D wings have never been in higher demand, and KCP is shooting a career-high from downtown, orchestrating slightly more pick-and-rolls and assuming some wildly tough defensive assignments, including point guards.
The Pistons, as head coach Stan Van Gundy has admitted, know what’s coming when Caldwell-Pope hits restricted free agency. They have the right to match any contract offer he receives, and as Van Gundy also noted, where he plays next season, be it in Detroit or somewhere else, is ultimately up to them.
