Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to miss road games against Rockets, Wolves due to DUI arrest in March

Update:

Caldwell-Pope explained on Saturday that due to his plea deal stemming from a DUI arrest last March, he will not be allowed to leave the state of California for 25 days. That means that the shooting guard will miss road games against the Rockets and Wolves in the coming month.

The Lakers have released a statement on the matter:

The Lakers put out a statement on KCP pic.twitter.com/jmvZ7w8HDS

— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) December 16, 2017

Original story follows:

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the first two games of the season as he was suspended by the NBA due to a DUI arrest last March when he was a member of the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers’ shooting guard missed the Lakers’ game against the Cavaliers on Thursday as part of the legal process following his arrest and could miss more in the near future.

Following via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN:

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the team’s game in Cleveland on Thursday to comply with a modified sentence stemming from a plea agreement he reached on a misdemeanor offense while a member of the Detroit Pistons in March, his attorney told ESPN.

On Thursday, Caldwell-Pope had to return to California to begin an intensive program over the next 25 days that will result in some travel restrictions and could cause him to miss additional games but will end his probation early.

The Lakers are currently in one of their toughest stretches of the season with upcoming games against the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets among many more playoff opponents.

The Lakers have 12 games remaining in the 25-day stretch where KCP’s availability is in question. Four of those games will be on the road and are the more likely contests that KCP could miss. The road opponents are Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Rockets twice.

Rookie Josh Hart started in place of Caldwell-Pope on Thursday and had the best game of his young career against the reigning Eastern Conference champions. He finished the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds while playing his usual brand of hard-nosed defense.

If KCP does miss more games, Hart or Corey Brewer would be the most likely candidates to replace him as Luke Walton prefers to keep Jordan Clarkson playing off the bench.