Pistons' owner would 'absolutely' pay luxury tax to keep Caldwell-Pope

Even in a rising cap environment, the Detroit Pistons could soon find themselves facing a difficult fiscal decision. Their young core has become very expensive very quickly, and with shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope becoming eligible for an extension on his rookie deal, the Pistons sit less than $5 million below the luxury-tax threshold.

The encouraging news for Pistons fans is that owner Tom Gores says he's willing to go into the tax if that's what it takes to keep Caldwell-Pope in the fold long-term.

"Look, if we weren't building a core, there's really no point in paying the luxury tax. Because we are building a core, would I do it? Yeah, absolutely," Gores told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

Caldwell-Pope has established himself as one of the league's strongest perimeter defenders, with his combination of length and lateral quickness making him particularly adept at bottling up opposing point guards. The Pistons don't have to pay him now, but allowing the extension deadline to pass would earmark the 23-year-old for restricted free agency next summer. Being proactive now could help secure their future, but Gores would need to shell out in order to make that happen.

The owner cited head coach and president Stan Van Gundy's defensive-minded vision as a reason he may be prepared to do so.

"Part of Stan's coaching philosophy obviously is defense," Gores said. "So you say go into the luxury tax for nothing, then that would be silly because then we're putting the franchise behind. But given that we have such a good core, if that’s what it took, and we feel we've made such progress this year, I wouldn't hesitate to do it because we want to keep getting better."

Gores has reason to believe in the Pistons' core. They were the second-youngest team (after the Portland Trail Blazers) to make the playoffs this past season, ending a seven-year drought for the franchise. All five of their projected starters are currently 26 years old or younger, and all of them - save for Caldwell-Pope - are locked up through at least 2019. The foundation is in place to build something sustainable.

"This is a tremendous team," Gores said. "If you go down the line, player by player, and especially our young folks, these are real players. You look at KCP as a very diverse player. He keeps working at his game and you look at his improvement and just like anybody else, he will improve in other areas."

Caldwell-Pope averaged 14.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals last season, and the Pistons were 8.5 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.