After acquiring Avery Bradley from the Boston Celtics on Friday, the Detroit Pistons are renouncing restricted free-agent guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
By pulling his qualifying offer, the Pistons will make Caldwell-Pope an unrestricted free agent.
The Brooklyn Nets, who were a strong contender to throw an offer sheet his way regardless, are expected to pursue the 24-year-old once he becomes unrestricted, sources told Wojnarowski.
That's contingent on their standing offer sheet to Otto Porter being matched by the Washington Wizards, but it would come as a great surprise if Washington opted to let Porter go. The Wizards can, however, wait until 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday to officially match, possibly giving other teams a small window in which to pounce on Caldwell-Pope while the Nets' max cap space is tied up.
He could opt to sign a one-year deal and try his luck in a potentially more robust market next summer, and if he's willing to do so, the Los Angeles Lakers have "significant interest," sources told Wojnarowski.
Caldwell-Pope established himself as a legitimate 3-and-D wing last season by bumping his long-range shooting up to a career-best 35 percent, but he also battled inconsistency and saw dips in his scoring average, true shooting percentage, and free-throw rate.
