The Denver Nuggets will watch 2023 NBA Champion and veteran sharpshooter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk for nothing in free agency, signing with the Orlando Magic on a three-year, $66 million deal, according to Shams Charania.
“Kentavious Caldwell-Pope intends to sign a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic, sources tell The Athletic. Massive pickup for the rising Magic, acquiring the starting shooting guard of two NBA title teams.”
Caldwell-Pope was one of the best shooters on the market, averaging 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists last season on 40.1% from three. The Magic were the worst-shooting team in the NBA last season and Pope can change that instantly. He took 4.1 threes per game last season, showing how proficient he can be from that end.
Pope’s defensive abilities mean that he would fit what Jamahl Mosley has been doing with the franchise in recent seasons. Their defense was their calling card, and Pope’s addition as an offensive threat should help them keep pace in the Eastern Conference where they were the No. 4 seed last season.
Pope is a veteran presence on a young team, so he should help players like Franz Wagner in particular to become a more consistent outside scoring threat.
Nuggets Said They Don’t Care About Losing Pope In Free Agency
A lot of fans saw KCP’s departure coming from a mile away, as Nuggets GM Calvin Booth didn’t seem optimistic about the swingman returning to the franchise during a press conference after the NBA Draft.
“Yeah, I think you have to look at everything and the nature of free agency is that he’s unrestricted. So, we can try to bring him back and if he doesn’t want to come back or opts to go somewhere else, that’s his prerogative so we’ll have to work with that.”
Booth already started establishing the reasons how he could spin KCP’s departure as a positive, essentially betting on the upward development of youngsters like Christian Braun and Julian Strawther.
“So, I think we’re prepared to like plug and play so to speak,” Booths told reporters. “When you look at some of the teams that have been good in the past, they had to find a way to replace fourth, fifth starters, sixth men off the bench and still keep rolling.”
The Nuggets bet on youngsters replacing outgoing championship veterans Bruce Brown and Jeff Green last season, with the production not living up to the hype. Losing another piece from that title squad is going to be rough, but the greatness of Nikola Jokic will be expected to help this team be competitive.
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