Detroit Pistons: The Rise Of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

For all the years of misery after a very successful mid-2000’s run of success, the Detroit Pistons were rewarded by the basketball gods with Andre Drummond – but he isn’t the only player that fell into their lap

From the 2009-10 season up until and including the 2014-15 season, the Detroit Pistons did not make a single playoff appearance and were never close to it, either. They never finished higher than 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. In fact, they only finished with 30 or more wins twice in that span.

They were dark days in the Motor City.

Of course, the one big positive that bad records bring is good draft picks. Yet, the Pistons never even received a top five pick. The highest they picked was number 7 in 2010.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

The notable players selected by the Pistons from the 2010 draft until the 2015 draft were:

Greg Monroe, 7th pick, 2010
Brandon Knight, 8th pick, 2011
Kyle Singler, 33rd pick, 2011
Andre Drummond, 9th pick, 2012
Khris Middleton, 39th pick, 2012
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 8th pick, 2013
Stanley Johnson, 8th pick, 2015

Monroe took a qualifying offer in the 2014 offseason so he could get out of Detroit without them having a chance to match an offer sheet in the 2015 offseason.

Knight and Middleton were traded for Brandon Jennings who, in turn, was used to acquire Tobias Harris. Singler was also moved to help bring in Reggie Jackson.

The only notable players that were retained in this time are Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson.

No one knows how good Johnson is going to be yet. After all, he only just completed his rookie season.

Oct 7, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons formatd Greg Monroe (10) and forward Kyle Singler (25) box out Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

But Drummond is already an All-Star and is being treated like a superhero in Detroit – and rightfully so, I might add. Along with his first All-Star appearance, he also made his first All-NBA Team and led the league in rebounds.

Reggie Jackson has also been praised for coming to Detroit and, after a rough start handling the duties of a starting point guard in the NBA, has flourished in Michigan to help lead the Pistons to the playoffs with an all-star caliber season.

Now, what I am about to say may shock you if you have never payed close attention to the Pistons:

If Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was not a member of the Pistons, I believe Detroit would’ve missed the playoffs.

KCP was and still is just as vital to Detroit’s success as Drummond and Jackson.

Only three players averaged more minutes that KCP’s staggering 36.7 last season – James Harden, Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler. All three of those players were All-Stars in the 2015-16 season.

The minutes that KCP was playing, and will continue to play, demonstrates the amount of trust that Stan Van Gundy, the president of basketball operations and coach of the Pistons, has in him.

With Jodie Meeks missing all but the final three games of the regular season, SVG’s hand was forced to play KCP heavy minutes and he responded mightily with superb play as a starter on a playoff team.

One of the best perimeter defenders in the league, KCP is often matched up with the other team’s toughest offensive assignment.

Above is a video highlighting KCP’s best defensive plays of the season.

KCP has proven he is capable of defending even the league’s brightest stars, holding All-Star Russell Westbrook to 14 points and a career-high 11 turnovers in one outing against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook also fouled out in 28 minutes, thanks in part to KCP drawing two charges on Westbrook.

Caldwell-Pope was also able to hold the two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry to a 7 for 19 shooting night. That was with Curry coming in hot, averaging 33.9 points per game to that point.

In fact, KCP has been heralded as one of the best Curry-stoppers in the league. As you should be well aware of, Curry has tortured the league these past few seasons with his ability to shoot the ball from insane distances but also blow past his man when they overplay him or fall for a fake.

He led the NBA this year with 30.1 points per game.

Yet when KCP, whose Pistons cost the Warriors one of their only nine losses, was the primary defender on Curry, he lost some of the magic that makes him so special.

Caldwell-Pope’s ability to fight through screens and face-guard Curry was a pivotal factor in holding Curry to 22 points on 38.9 percent shooting and KCP posting a defensive field goal percentage of 22 percent.

Below are the highlights from KCP’s outstanding defensive performance against Curry (the Pistons did not win this game but were able to use what they learnt from this game to beat the Warriors in their next and final meeting).

Caldwell-Pope will only continue to improve on both sides of the ball as he gains more experience. After his somewhat disappointing rookie year, I’m not sure anyone outside the Pistons organisation saw this kind of production coming from KCP in only his third season in the NBA.

Next season is critical for KCP, both individually and team wise. Not only will he be looking to get paid next offseason as a restricted free agent in a league with a rising cap, but the Pistons are also looking to make the next jump.

Detroit was the 8 seed last year and they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept them just like they did in the 2009 playoffs in the exact same playoff seeds.

If Detroit wants to be more than just a first round knock over, they’re going to have to go higher than the 8 seed because Cleveland, fresh off a championship, will be looking to repeat against what is predicted to be a very potent Golden State roster.

Drummond should continue to be brilliant on the boards and, with a better offensive touch and, more importantly, an improved free throw shot, he will hopefully improve again and be the leading man that Van Gundy can lean on to help Detroit meet their higher expectations.

Mar 21, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) celebrates with center Andre Drummond (0) during the third quarter against the Chicago Bulls at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Bulls 107-91. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

But Drummond can’t carry the Pistons to the playoffs on his own. DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis have proven in Sacramento and New Orleans, respectively, that a star big man can’t always just carry a team into the playoffs because they are superstars.

Reggie Jackson will need to continue his fabulous play as a starting point guard to sustain and improve Detroit’s success. He now has a season and a half under his belt with the Pistons and should be ready to potentially make his first All-Star appearance.

Marcus Morris, who had his best year in Detroit last season, was trusted with a heavy amount of minutes last season (35.7). If he can keep up the same production, Detroit will be that much deeper

Stanley Johnson, who averaged 16 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals a game in the Orlando Summer League, needs to prove to the Pistons that he can translate those stats into meaningful production on the NBA court in his sophomore season.

Nov 6, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (right) and forward Stanley Johnson against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Tobias Harris and Aron Baynes should be more acquainted with how the Pistons play under SVG and will have training camp and preseason to define their roles on the team.

New additions Ish Smith, Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic and rookie Henry Ellenson will need to learn quickly how to fit in with the Pistons in order to improve their bench unit and therefore their chances at a higher playoff seed

Yet, without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the team would stand no shot at a playoff berth.

Backing up KCP at the shooting guard position for the Pistons are Reggie Bullock and Darrun Hilliard, hardly viable options to play consistent backup minutes.

This is what makes KCP so important to the Pistons – his ability to stay on the floor for long periods of time and still be the great defensive player that he is.

The rise of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has only just begun. At just 23 years old, he still has plenty of room to grow and improve.

Detroit has been ravaged with bad luck over the past few years. They traded away Khris Middleton, who turned out to be a great player in Milwaukee. Greg Monroe, the highest Pistons draft pick from 2010-2015, joined him soon after in free agency.

The Pistons also lost their pick to the Hornets in the 2014 Draft as a result of the Corey Maggette trade.

The rise of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has only just begun

Brandon Jennings tore his achilles just as Josh Smith and his terrible contract were forced out the door and Detroit began to get in a groove, highlighted by a Jennings game-winner to lift the Pistons over the Spurs.

Despite the bad luck, the Pistons kept on striving towards a common goal amongst all professional sports teams – to become a championship caliber team.

The Pistons hired Stan Van Gundy, who has proved to be the perfect man for the job. He came in and rebuilt the squad to his liking and, in his second season, they made the playoffs.

Some of the bad luck like losing Middleton and Knight turned into good luck when the Pistons were able to trade Brandon Jennings (whom they acquire in the Knight/Middleton trade) in a package for Tobias Harris.

With Drummond, Jackson, Johnson, Harris and KCP, the Pistons now find themselves in a situation that fans couldn’t of dreamt of two seasons ago.

It’s now not a matter of if the Pistons will make the playoffs.

The real question is how far can they go?

Despite the sheer brilliance of Drummond and Jackson, that question depends largely on the shoulders of one man.

must read: NBA: Predicting The 2016-17 Eastern Conference Playoff Field

One man whose defensive consistency despite heavy minutes should no longer go unnoticed and unrecognised.

And that man’s name is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Home/Detroit Pistons