Coinciding with the Los Angeles Lakers snapping their season-worst nine-game losing streak, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was liberated on a personal level. As of Monday, his 25-day sentence in the Seal Beach Police Department Detention Center had concluded.
“I feel good just to get back to my routine. I paid my debts and all,” Caldwell-Pope said. “Everything is done. I’m putting that behind me and moving forward to finish my season. I’m just happy to be home.”
Caldwell-Pope was ordered to the detention facility after violating the terms of his probation that stemmed from an arrest last year for driving under the influence. He pled guilty to a lesser charge of allowing someone to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence.
Caldwell-Pope was only permitted to leave the facility on a work release for Lakers home games and practices during the 25-day sentence.
In-person communication with family and friends was limited to games at Staples Center. “Just to see them kind of brightened my day but I couldn’t go home. It was difficult,” Caldwell-Pope said of the arrangement.
“My family is all I’ve got out here, and my teammates are part of my family as well. It was difficult not to be with them and my family. I just felt like I let them down. I’m learning from this mistake and moving forward.”
In nine games played while serving the jail sentence, Caldwell-Pope averaged 11 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 26.7 percent behind the arc. “Just thinking about it got me away from my game,” he said. “I’m just glad it’s over with.”
The 24-year-old endured a particularly rough night in all of 20 minutes in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Caldwell-Pope admitted to not being himself and said he was “glad” Lakers head coach Luke Walton removed him from the game.
Caldwell-Pope responded with a better effort in a win against the Atlanta Hawks. “He looked more relaxed. He looked his normal self, which was good. We needed that,” Walton said.
“He was solid throughout the game, wasn’t forcing anything. Defensively, he was hounding people, fighting over screens, the things he does really well.”
With the legal matter behind him, Caldwell-Pope can now focus on aiding the Lakers in righting the ship after a poor December dashed any thoughts of the team potentially sneaking into the playoffs.
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