2024 NBA Free Agency: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Leaves Nuggets, Joins Magic in $66 Million Deal, Reports Say

After playing against Nikola Jokic and having the time of his life, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is leaving the Denver Nuggets to sign with the Orlando Magic, as first reported by Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The deal is worth $66 million over three years, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, and will carry a player option on the third year, as first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Caldwell-Pope, 31, played a crucial role in the Nuggets’ 2023 championship run, but the front office sent clear signals ahead of free agency that it wasn’t willing to pay what it would take to sign it again. “I think we’ll be fine if KCP doesn’t come back,” general manager Calvin Booth said during his post-bush press conference Wednesday, shortly after referencing Christian Braun’s net rating.

For the Magic, Caldwell-Pope fills a glaring void on offense and strengthens their defensive identity. Orlando ranked second in the NBA defensively last season, but only 22nd offensively, largely because it didn’t have anyone like Caldwell-Pope. It was thanks to coach Jamahl Mosley and the team’s collective commitment to defense that they were able to win 47 regular season games despite being one of the worst 3-point shooting teams of the league in terms of volume and efficiency.

Caldwell-Pope might not be able to play the same style of basketball he did in Denver, but he’ll fit in just fine. Tested in the playoffs, it will make the task easier for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the Magic’s two playmakers. He shot 41.5% from three-point range in his two seasons in Denver.

As for the Nuggets: it promises to be difficult. With the obvious caveat that free agency just Even if Booth’s leadership has started and deserves a chance to make some moves, it’s troubling that Denver hasn’t found a way to bring Caldwell-Pope back. He started 76 games for the Nuggets in each of the last two seasons, and in the league there have been few better combinations of player and role. Caldwell-Pope feasted on layups and 3-pointers, and he had a knack for cutting and timing. He was the team’s best defender on offense, and while he was better suited to guarding smaller players than bigger ones, he was willing to do both.

Caldwell-Pope’s departure is a bigger blow than the loss of Bruce Brown and Jeff Green last summer. When Booth told The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor before last season that Denver was trying to win “three out of six, three out of seven, four out of eight” rather than trying to maximize its chances of winning back-to-back championships, it wasn’t clear that This Are the Nuggets confident that Braun will become an efficient, effective three-point shooter? Do they think Peyton Watson can hold his own in the playoffs next time around? Does Booth still have something up his sleeve?

If Denver had paid Caldwell-Pope exactly what the Magic paid him, he would have been facing the second apron, pending more roster changes. The roster restrictions on teams with such high salaries are real, and in that Ringer story, Booth said one of his biggest fears was that the Nuggets would become a team with no “outs.”

They’re not the only team making a tough and decidedly unpopular choice in the name of maintaining financial flexibility — Klay Thompson’s future with the Golden State Warriors appears nonexistent, and, as this story was being written, the Los Angeles Clippers released a statement saying Paul George would not be returning. It’s hard to square Denver’s hopes of winning another title with this continued talent drain, though. The Nuggets’ depth was an issue with Caldwell-Pope on the team; it will probably be a much bigger team in the future.