20 free agents that could join Ricky Rubio (and Gordon Hayward) with the Utah Jazz
By Ryan Aston
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Another restricted free agent, the Detroit Pistons’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could be an option for the Jazz should they lose Hayward. Utah could move Rodney Hood/Joe Ingles to the small forward spot, while Caldwell-Pope starts at the two.
The question with this former No. 8 overall pick is whether or not he’ll ever live up to his potential. He’s got decent size and length for the shooting guard position, he’s a good athlete and a strong defender, but he’s yet to really have that big, breakout year.
Last season, he averaged 14 points, three rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. He also shot a career-best 35 percent from three-point range. However, he shot below 40 percent from the field overall. He was particularly bad from three to 10 feet away from the hoop, where he hit on just 27 percent of his attempts.
Still, he’s shown that he can get hot and light it up. In a February game against the New Orleans Pelicans, he scored 38 points on 12-of-18 shooting and hit eight threes.
As with Porter, the Jazz could be getting a player on the way up. However, also like Porter, he’s a restricted free agent who will probably require a giant contract offer to keep the Pistons from matching.