The Denver Nuggets might lose their fifth starter, Caldwell-Pope, similar to how they lost Bruce Brown Jr. last year.
Caldwell-Pope is expected to decline his $15.4 million player option and has been linked to three Eastern Conference teams, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
“Kentavious Caldwell-Pope appears to be the veteran set to benefit from the Magic’s cap space. Additionally, he could potentially join the Bulls if they lose Williams or serve as a backup option for the 76ers,” Fischer wrote on June 21.
Orlando and Philadelphia are among the five NBA teams with more than $30 million in cap space this offseason. Meanwhile, Chicago is actively reshaping its roster, starting with the Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey trade.
The Magic, seeking to offer short-term, above-market deals to attract free agents, might adopt the Indiana Pacers’ free-agency strategy from last year.
Brown left the Nuggets after their 2023 championship run, accepting a substantial offer from the Pacers — a two-year, $45 million deal with a team option for the second year.
The Nuggets cannot afford to lose Caldwell-Pope, their best wing defender
According to Second Spectrum (via ESPN’s Bobby Marks), opponents shot 40.6% when Caldwell-Pope was the closest defender, the best mark in the regular season among players who defended more than 500 shots.
Offensively, he shot 40.6% from three-point range, making him one of the top 3-and-D wings in the league. Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals across 76 regular-season games.
He is also one of the most durable players, missing only 16 regular-season games over the last three seasons. However, his performance declined in the last playoffs, shooting only 39.5% from the field and 32.7% from three-point range.
Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke indicated they plan to retain Caldwell-Pope as part of their “league’s best starting five.”
“We still believe we have the best starting five in basketball, even though we fell just short this year,” Kroenke said during their season-ending press conference. “It could have gone either way until the last few minutes. So we don’t think we’re far off.”
Nuggets Options: The Nuggets can extend Caldwell-Pope using his Bird Rights if he opts into his player option
According to Marks, Caldwell-Pope would be eligible to sign a four-year, $96.8 million extension starting July 16 if he exercises the player option.
The Nuggets would become a second-apron team if they retain Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson ($5.3 million player option), limiting their ability to make significant trades.
If they lose Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets would only have the $5.1 million tax midlevel exception to find his replacement. Another option is promoting Christian Braun to the starting lineup.
“He obviously has the intangibles, physical strength, athleticism, and defense (to be a starter),” Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth said of Braun during their season-ending press conference. “He’s improved his shooting, but I don’t see how you could overlook a second-year player who’s done what he has and not think he could start. He’s ahead of schedule in that regard.”
Braun, 22, averaged 7.3 points on 46% shooting from the field and 38.4% from three-point range in his second season.
