So in December, when a judge's order kept him away from his family on the days he wasn't with the Lakers, he and his wife were able to shield their 5-year-old son from the reality a child that age might not have been ready for. When little Kenzo Caldwell-Pope asked where his dad was, they told him he was on a long trip.
The extra time away from his family was the hardest part of this season for Caldwell-Pope.
The contract that Caldwell-Pope signed to play for the Lakers was a stopgap in many ways. Caldwell-Pope had entered free agency late when the Detroit Pistons renounced their rights to him in mid-July.