Kentavious Caldwell-Pope began the Los Angeles Lakers’ exhibition game on Thursday night versus the Dallas Mavericks as a starter, but it didn’t take long before he went back to the locker room with an injury.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for it to be revealed that the injury is not serious, and that the veteran guard has been deemed available to return.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope rolled his ankle but is ok and available to return if Vogel wants to bring him back.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) July 23, 2020
Caldwell-Pope was inserted into the Lakers’ starting lineup as a replacement for Avery Bradley, who is sitting out the remainder of the season.
If Caldwell-Pope’s injury had proven more serious, it would have marked a major loss for the team.
That is especially true because fellow guard Rajon Rondo was forced to leave the NBA’s bubble to undergo surgery after suffering a thumb injury earlier this month.
Given Caldwell-Pope’s value to the team, it is likely that Lakers head coach Frank Vogel will sit him out for the rest of tonight’s match.
With that being said, he does need as much time as possible to acclimate to his new role as a starter.
Either way, it’s great news to see that Caldwell-Pope is okay. Hopefully, this is the last injury scare the Lakers have to deal with going forward.
