Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is working on a buyout with the Grizzlies to reunite with LeBron James in Philly

Drew Smith
July 25, 2026
Sixers
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The first domino has fallen. As always with LeBron James, landing him means a few of his friends start looking for a way to follow, and the first to emerge is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who according to Chris Haynes of Prime Video is negotiating a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and intends to reunite with LeBron in Philadelphia. LeBron has been a Sixer for about a day and the roster is already getting reinforcements.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is working on a buyout with the Grizzlies

KCP welcome brother. https://t.co/6NdmxBnDMq
— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) July 25, 2026

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and LeBron played three seasons together on the Lakers and won the 2020 title in the COVID bubble, and the two share Rich Paul of Klutch Sports as an agent, which is the connective tissue behind basically every LeBron roster move ever made. This is how it works when you sign LeBron James. The infrastructure comes with him.

A Classic 3-and-D Fit, Even at This Stage

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has spent his entire career as a 3-and-D wing, which is exactly the archetype that has always fit best next to LeBron because it lets the big man run the offense while a spacing threat knocks down open shots and guards on the perimeter.

The Lakers traded him away for Russell Westbrook in one of the more baffling decisions of that era, and it aged terribly because KCP immediately went to Denver and won another title with Jokic while the Lakers spent a year figuring out that Westbrook didn’t fit anything they were trying to do.

The catch is that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. He shot 31.6 percent from three, his worst mark since 2015-16, which is a real drop-off for a guy whose entire value is built on being a reliable shooter. He can still defend and the reputation still carries weight, but this isn’t the version of KCP that was drilling corner threes on championship teams.

The Sixers Don’t Need Him to Be Much

Here’s the part that makes this a smart low-risk move. The Sixers don’t need Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to be anything close to his peak because the rotation is already stacked. It was an active offseason before they landed LeBron, and now the starting five picks itself with LeBron, Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe. Behind them are Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, Ariel Hukporti, Labaron Philon, Adem Bona, and more.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would be a depth piece, a veteran who has won at the highest level and understands exactly what LeBron needs from the players around him. If the shooting bounces back even partway toward his career norms, he’s a useful rotation wing on a minimum-type deal after the buyout. If it doesn’t, the Sixers haven’t risked anything meaningful.

At this stage of his career, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a low-cost roll of the dice, and the interesting variable is motivation. It’s been a couple years since he’s been on a genuine contender, and reuniting with LeBron on a team built to win a championship right now might be exactly the thing that gets the best version of him back for one more run. Players who have tasted titles tend to find another gear when they get a real shot at another one.

Sign the buyout, bring him in, and let him chase one more ring alongside the guy he already won one with. The friends are arriving. This is just the beginning.