Veteran swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gave up $3,876,529 in his buyout agreement with the Grizzlies, Hoops Rumors has confirmed (hat tip to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). That’s the exact amount that Caldwell-Pope will earn on the minimum-salary contract he intends to sign with the Sixers after clearing waivers. Philadelphia will carry a cap hit of $2,449,421 on that one-year deal.
The buyout reduces Caldwell-Pope’s cap charge on the Grizzlies’ books from $21,621,500 to $17,744,971. Even after signing first-round pick Karim Lopez, they’ll be carrying just under $160MM in salary for 2026/27, which comes in below the $165MM cap.
Memphis will continue to operate as an over-the-cap team, however, since doing so will allow the club to hang onto its $28.9MM trade exception for Jaren Jackson Jr., among other cap exceptions. Renouncing those exceptions in order to free up a few million dollars in cap room wouldn’t be a logical use of resources for the Grizzlies, who still have the ability to add take on significant salary in trades either before or during the season.
Here are a few more contract and cap details from around the NBA:
John Tonje‘s new two-way contract with the Trail Blazers covers two seasons, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). If he plays out the entire deal without being promoted or waived, Tonje would be eligible for restricted free agency during the 2028 offseason.
The contracts recently signed by Julian Phillips with the Rockets and Harrison Ingram with the Jazz are non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Neither player has more than three years of NBA service, so they’d both be eligible to have those contracts converted into two-way deals before the regular season begins.
Kobe Bufkin‘s new deal with the Pelicans is also a non-guaranteed training camp contract, but it only includes Exhibit 9 language and not an Exhibit 10 clause, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. That means Bufkin’s contract can’t be converted to a two-way deal and he’s probably less likely to end up on New Orleans’ G League team if he’s waived, since he wouldn’t receive an Exhibit 10 bonus.