After agreeing to a trade with the Boston Celtics in which they acquire guard Avery Bradley and trade forward Marcus Morris, the Detroit Pistons have reportedly rescinded the rights of fellow guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Detroit is renouncing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2017
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope now becomes the top unrestricted free agent on the market.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 7, 2017
Caldwell-Pope was a restricted free agent heading into this offseason, meaning that the Pistons could match any offer made to their former 2013 first-round pick by another team. The move now makes him unrestricted, allowing him to sign freely anywhere.
Photo: Alyssa BlayneyDetroit has already made a slew of moves on a smaller scale since the free agency period began last week. They have inked guard Langston Galloway and center Eric Moreland to deals, while also trading Darrun Hilliard to Houston — who was later subsequently flipped to the Los Angeles Clippers — as part of the Chris Paul blockbuster deal.
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Pulling back the rights to Caldwell-Pope gives Detroit some cap flexibility, albeit not much. Newcomer Avery Bradley is set to make roughly $8.8M this upcoming season before becoming a free agent himself, so the Pistons have a year to figure out if they see Bradley part of their long-term plans.
Caldwell-Pope last season in 76 games for Detroit averaged 13.8 points per game and 33.3 minutes per game. Over his first four seasons in the league, he played in 314 career games with the Pistons, averaging close to 12 PPG and knocking down better than 33 percent of his attempts from behind the long line.
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