Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is Playing For the Lakers While Serving a Jail Sentence

Caldwell-Pope is serving a 25-day sentence under a work-release program.

Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is practicing and playing for the Lakers while he serves a 25-day jail sentence for violating the terms of his probation, reports the Los Angeles Times. 

Caldwell-Pope's legal problem started on March 29, when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Michigan while he was a member of the Pistons. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of allowing someone under the influence to operate his vehicle, but he avoided jail time and instead received 12 months probation. The probation agreement stipulated that Caldwell-Pope undergo numerous drug and alcohol tests, but he missed many, and that resulted in him receiving the 25-day sentence. 

He's serving his sentence at the Seal Beach Police Department Detention Center under a work-release program that allows him to leave the facility for practice and games, reports the Times. The work-release program requires Caldwell-Pope, 24, to a breath test anytime he returns after leaving the facility.  However, he is not allowed to leave the state of California during the sentence, which forced him to miss Thursday's game in Houston as well as last Thursday's game in Cleveland. In both box scores he was listed as "DNP-Personal Reasons." 

While it's not completely clear when the 25-day period officially began, Caldwell-Pope has not played outside California since the Lakers' 113-109 loss to the Knicks on Dec. 12. He signed a one-year deal for $18 million with the Lakers this offseason and is averaging 14.2 points, 5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He was suspended for the first two games of this season for violating the league's substance abuse policy but started each of the 25 games he's appeared in for Los Angeles.

The Seal Beach facility in which Caldwell-Pope is staying is a pay-to-stay center where those with sentences less than 365 days can serve their team. It has flat-screen TVs. 

"In the marketplace of jail beds for rent in Southern California, Seal Beach has gained a reputation as the go-to jail for many deep-pocketed offenders," an earlier Times piece reads.