A year ago, the Denver Nuggets were on top of the world. Having just won the NBA Championship with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray leading the way, it appeared the Nuggets could be primed for a title repeat in 2024. However, Denver watched its season end in the second round of the playoffs and then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a pivotal player during the team's championship quest, walk in free agency.
Caldwell-Pope, while possibly the least important starter offensively for the Nuggets, was likely the team's best perimeter defender since his arrival to Denver in 2022. A prototypical 3-and-D guard that fit well next to the more offensively-minded Murray and Jokic, it was assumed Caldwell-Pope would draw interest from teams around the league as an unrestricted free agent. Unfortunately, that interest — or more accurately, the price — proved to be too great for the Nuggets, as the team reportedly offering KCP a contract before he signed with the Orlando Magic.
In his latest ESPN article, Zach Lowe explored which team in the Western Conference is most likely to make it to the NBA Finals.
“For some, the conversation then circles all the way back one calendar year: Why isn't it Denver again? As long as the world's best player is healthy, be wary of discounting the Nuggets,” Lowe wrote. “They have been labeled offseason losers after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope bolted for a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic.
“Denver made Caldwell-Pope an offer, but there was a sizable gap in annual salary, sources said. Denver could have tried compensating with a longer deal averaging a little north of Caldwell-Pope's $15 million player option number — say a 5-year, $90 million contract — but the Magic's offer might have rendered the conversation moot.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Magic contract
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has earned more than $100 million in salary during his NBA career, but at 31 and with defense being his most important asset, this offseason may have been KCP's final chance to sign a big, multiyear deal.
While the Denver Nuggets reportedly offered a “pretty similar” deal to the one he eventually signed with the Orlando Magic, there is no confirmation he would have earned as much money or have the flexibility the Magic offered. By signing in Orlando, Caldwell-Pope is guaranteed $66 million over three years, and if he so chooses, he can opt out of the final season and become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
Caldwell-Pope's annual salary is at its highest this coming season when he is set to make $22.8 million, the largest salary of KCP's career by $5 million. KCP's cap hit is set at $21.62 million for each of the next two seasons after that.
After being traded to the Nuggets two years ago from the Washington Wizards, Caldwell-Pope signed a two-year, $30.15 million extension with Denver. He had a $15.4 million player option he could have elected to exercise for this season, but he took a chance on himself — something that didn't work out particularly well in 2017 negotiations with the Detroit Pistons — and this time it paid off in the form of a $66 million deal.
The Nuggets hope to replace Caldwell-Pope's production with the likes of Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and Russell Westbrook, although Westbrook's signing has not been made official.
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