The Detroit Pistons are finally back where they belong, right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. After years of rebuilds and reboots to the franchise, things are heading in the right direction, and the team's performance during the 2024-25 campaign proves just that.
One of the Pistons' lottery picks from the 2010s who dealt with coming up short in the playoffs or missing the postseason altogether was traded this offseason from a fellow Eastern Conference playoff team to a contender in the Western Conference.
While that deal occurred before the 2025 NBA Draft, there were reportedly attempts to have the veteran re-routed to one of his former teams immediately after the trade was finalized. However, as we know now, that attempt failed.
Ex-Pistons SG Caldwell-Pope Was Nearly Traded to Lakers This Summer
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was shipped from the Orlando Magic to the Memphis Grizzlies in the deal that brought Desmond Bane to the Eastern Conference. What we did not know until now is that the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to reacquire the former Pistons shooting guard after the trade between Memphis and Orlando had been agreed upon.
The Lakers discussed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Donte DiVincenzo as potential trade targets with the Grizzlies and Timberwolves, sources told @ClutchPoints.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) July 21, 2025
KCP talks happened after he was included in the Bane-ORL trade. MIN immediately turned down DiVincenzo talks. https://t.co/kN3jZ7HgdH
Seeing as Caldwell-Pope is still on the Grizzlies roster, and Los Angeles pivoted to other options on the wing, the attempt from Rob Pelinka to reunite Caldwell-Pope with LeBron James never got off the ground.
Despite being on the wrong side of 30 years old, Caldwell-Pope has carved out a nice career for himself since being selected by Detroit with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2013 draft. Given that the Lakers focus solely on competing for championships above all else, their desire to add the former Pistons guard reinforces the fact that Caldwell-Pope is still viewed as a difference-maker.
This past season, the 32-year-old guard started in all 77 of the games he appeared in for Orlando, helping them clinch the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, and averaged 8.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in just under 30 minutes per game. Putting up numbers like that on a playoff team will make you an attractive option on the trade market.
While their rivalry with Los Angeles isn't as intense as some of the others, it's hard to imagine there are many Pistons fans out there who are sad to see the Lakers come up empty in their attempt to bring Caldwell-Pope back into the fold.