Heading into the offseason, the Denver Nuggets were never going to be the big winners of free agency.
Sure, the team still had ways to improve their depth in the taxpayer mid-level exception, a first and second-round pick in the draft, and the Bird rights to their most prominent free agent, but they didn't have the cap space of a team like Philadelphia, Orlando, or OKC, or the wealth of picks like the New York Knicks necessarily to make a massive trade for a high-profile addition. If another team vied for the same player they wanted, chances are that team would win, even if the opportunity to compete for a title with a multi-time MVP might sway some older vets at the end of their careers.
Unfortunately, that's more or less what happened to the Nuggets in free agency, as, after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope declined his player option, he ended up signing a new, three-year, $66 million deal to join the Orlando Magic as their big swing toward contention.
Now for the Magic, this deal is fantastic, as their best player, Paolo Banchero, is still on his rookie contract, and the only max deal they have on the books belongs to Franz Wagner, who just secured the deal earlier this summer. Slotting KCP in at the two spot between the German National Team member Jalen Suggs instantly makes the Magic's offense better without sacrificing any defense and as a result, the rest of their rotation can slot into more appropriate roles based on their current abilities.
And as for the Nuggets? Well, they lose KCP when they could have matched the money presented by Orlando – assuming Caldwell-Pope wasn't willing to accept a hometown discount – and now find themselves with a question mark at the two-guard spot, as even if he played well coming off the bench, there's no knowing how Christian Braun will handle a bigger role, let alone how a player like Julian Strawther will adjust when tasked with stepping into a sixth-man-type role.
Factor in the loss of Reggie Jackson – and three second-round picks – versus the signing of Dario Saric, and it makes sense why Nuggets fans on social media are feeling a tad underwhelmed by how the offseason has shaken out.
Calvin Booth believes the Nuggets can weather KCP's exit
While fans of the Nuggets may have been shocked to see Denver let Caldwell-Pope leave in free agency for nothing, as teams don't usually choose to break up the core of their championship roster when they have the tools to re-sign him under the cap – a stark contrast to Bruce Brown's situaiton last year – one person who isn't worried about the starting five and the overall rotation as a whole is Calvin Booth, the general manager of the team.
Discussing free agency shortly before the opening bell, Booth told local media that while he would love to keep KCP on the roster heading into the future, he wasn't going to sweat the decision, as he felt comfortable enough in the depth he built to keep the Nuggets competitive.
“He's unrestricted, so we can try to bring him back, and if he doesn't want to come back or chooses to go somewhere else, that's his prerogative, so we'll have to work with that. I think we're prepared to like, plug and play so to speak. If you look at teams that have been good in the past, they have to find a way to replace, you know, fourth and fifth starters, sixth men off the bench, and still keep rolling,” Calvin Booth told reporters via 9 News.
“It'll be nice if he's back, they have a lot of continuity together, but I think all the stuff I've looked at with lineup stuff and everything, Christian Braun is one of the best net rating guys in the league, as is KCP. So I think, if he's to step into the starting lineup like probably projected, you know, we'll be okay if KCP doesn't return.”
Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they have already lost to injury one of their key players heading into the season in rookie DaRon Holmes, the 21-year-old power forward from Dayton that Denver traded up to acquire after more or less telegraphing their interest in his services. While he probably wasn't going to overtake Aaron Gordon to become the team's new starting power forward as a rookie, his absence does thin out the rotation just a tad further and could ultimately result in the Nuggets having to sign a free agent role player like Justin Holiday to help fill out their roster.
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