Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is planning to return for his 14th NBA season, as he has decided to pick up his $21.6 million player option for 2026-27 with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The veteran guard had until Monday to decide on picking up his player option, and ESPN’s senior NBA insider, Shams Charania, has now reported that he will be picking up the final year of his contract in Memphis, instead of testing free agency.
“Memphis Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is exercising his $21.6 million player option for the 2026-27 season, sources tell ESPN,” wrote Charania on X.
Caldwell-Pope joined the Grizzlies as a part of the trade package for Desmond Bane at the beginning of 2025-26. In 2025-26, Caldwell-Pope averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 41.0% from the field and 31.6% from beyond the arc. The veteran guard was traded to a new team and spent his first year finding his footing in Memphis.
Hence, it was a safe bet not to test free agency this summer, based on his recent form, and pick up his player option so that the team can guarantee his salary for 2026-27. After having surgery in February to correct a misalignment in his right pinkie finger, he missed the final 31 games in 2025-26.
Caldwell-Pope is at least a name to keep an eye on in the NBA offseason market, as the Grizzlies are about to embark on a comprehensive rebuild, and his current contract expires at the end of 2026–2027.
The 33-year-old has two championships and has so far averaged 11.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 963 regular season games while shooting 42.7% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the three-point line.
The former first-round pick joined the league in 2013 as the eighth overall pick and immediately made his name in the league as one of the best perimeter defenders. Across his career, he’s played for six different teams in the league: the Pistons, the Lakers, the Nuggets, the Magic, the Grizzlies, and the Wizards.
The veteran guard is one of the best 3-and-D wings in the league and was crucial to the championship wins of the Nuggets and the Lakers. He could still be a pivotal piece on a young team like the Grizzlies to provide some experience from the bench, but, likely, Caldwell-Pope may not stay in Memphis for long as they look to potentially initiate a rebuild.
The Grizzlies have the third overall pick in the upcoming draft and are expected to draft a solid young piece like Cameron Boozer to the team. But they will likely be years away from being a winning team if they fully initiate a rebuild right now. So the ball is now in the Grizzlies’ front office’s court on what to do next with Caldwell-Pope.
