Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is currently in jail. Believe it or not, he's also currently an active member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a twist that's truly hard to believe, Caldwell-Pope is actually taking part in a work-release program at the Seal Beach Police Department Detention Center. He's in the midst of a 25-day sentence for breaking a probation he was under for a misdemeanor charge he pled guilty to in March of 2017 while still a member of the Detroit Pistons. He was reportedly given a 12-month probation after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and plead guilty to allowing someone under the influence to operate a vehicle.
Part of that probation, per reports, was that Caldwell-Pope was subject to drug and alcohol tests, many of which he missed — and that led to his rather cushy jail sentence.
Here's more on the sentence, per the Los Angeles Times:
"[Caldwell-Pope] is being allowed to leave the facility for games and practices, according to court and jail officials and court documents.
Caldwell-Pope is not allowed to leave the state, which will result in missed games in Houston and Minneapolis. He is expected to be at the Lakers game against the Warriors in Oakland on Friday.
The Lakers declined to comment on the situation, referring The Times to a statement they released Saturday.
"This is a legal matter, stemming from an incident that occurred last season while Kentavious was a member of another NBA team," the statement read. "The Los Angeles Lakers are abiding by the terms of a program for Kentavious that were established for him by a court in the state of Michigan. As such, we will have no further comment at this time."
The Los Angeles Times passes on that the jail KCP is staying at is actually a pay-per-stay facility, where (likely) affluent people pay the jail to serve out their jail time in what appears to be luxury compared to normal incarceration.
Caldwell-Pope has to wear a GPS monitor outside of the facility and if he were to violate the terms of the suspension he'd be shipped back to Oakland County in Michigan for a 93-day sentence.
All things considered, the basketball player seems to have it pretty easy. Sure, he can't leave the state and it's obviously not an ideal situation — heading to jail after basketball practice — but Seal Beach reportedly has flat screen televisions, a computer room, and brand new beds.
Inmates at Seal Beach pay $100 a night for the privilege of staying there. Members of the work-release program have to pay $120.
