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The Denver Nuggets are off to another solid start this season as one of the main threats from the Western Conference. One of their key performers of the previous two seasons in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope departed from the franchise over the summer, and one can't help but think if it was an opportunity whiff by the Nuggets.
It's possible that the reason for the Nuggets' current struggles to bolster the roster for another title run is because of how poorly they've managed talent in the past – specifically Caldwell-Pope. It's likely that the organization wasn't interested in bringing back KCP as a long-term asset. However, Denver received no compensation or another role player, as a result of dragging its feet in the sign-and-trade process.
The Nuggets had interest from the Dallas Mavericks last summer for a potential sign-and-trade, but things were brought to a halt when they said that they wouldn't be willing to participate. According to one re-telling of the various Caldwell-Pope discussions relayed to Mark Stein, Denver showed some “11th-hour openness to sign-and-trade concepts” after initially declining.
Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.0 points and 1.5 steals per game in the Nuggets' 2022-23 NBA Finals series victory, and was the most efficient three-point shooter (42.3). Since then, Denver hasn't carried itself with the same aura, despite having stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray still playing in the blue and gold.
What if the Nuggets played it right with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope?
After the Nuggets lost in the 2023-24 Western Conference semifinals, it was imminent that Caldwell-Pope would be one of the first offseason departures, as the Nuggets just couldn't make it work financially. It didn't take long before the Orlando Magic made a move to ink KCP to a three-year contract.
There was interest in the two-way guard, especially in the Western Conference, and it showed by the meager time that he spent on the open free agency market last offseason.
