Coming off a disappointing early exit in the 2024 NBA playoffs at the hands of the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets still have all the makings of a team that should be right up there among the favorites to contend for the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2025. However, they will have to figure out really quickly who'll be stepping up for the team at the shooting guard position now that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is set to play for the Orlando Magic after signing a three-year, $66 million deal with them in free agency.

It's a bit difficult to overstate just how important Caldwell-Pope has been for the Nuggets over the past two seasons. He was the perfect fit for a Nikola Jokic-led offensive system. But now, the Nuggets will be in scramble mode as they look to get a player who could approximate Caldwell-Pope's impact.

Without further ado, here are some of the options the Nuggets have in trying to address their need for a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope replacement.

Nuggets' shooting guard situation is up in the air

Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth foreshadowed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's departure when he said in an interview that he thinks they will be okay even if he leaves. Keeping Caldwell-Pope required the Nuggets to dip into the second tax apron; as things stand, they are around $20 million below the second tax apron, and Caldwell-Pope signed with the Magic for a contract worth $22 million annually.

The new collective bargaining agreement has made it very difficult for contending teams to keep their core intact. Teams risk losing flexibility via trade and free agency if they stay above the second tax apron, and the Nuggets haven't exactly been one of the biggest spenders in the association throughout the franchise's existence.

However, contention comes at a huge cost. The Boston Celtics know this. They recognized that the roster they have is good for a few more cracks at a championship, so what they did is lock up their five core players to huge extensions. The Nuggets should not have hesitated to pay Caldwell-Pope; after all, he has proven to be one of the best 3-and-D role players in the entire association, and he is as crucial of a member as it can get of their vaunted starting five.

The aforementioned starting five played the most minutes together last season, with 958, and during those minutes, they had a net rating of +13.6, which puts them at a championship-level. The good news is that the lineup with Christian Braun, the man presumed to replace Caldwell-Pope, had a solid enough rating of +8.6. The problem is that that lineup played 930 fewer minutes.

Caldwell-Pope has displayed a supreme feel for working off of Nikola Jokic in dribble hand-offs; he has feasted on midrange pull-ups and catch-and-shoot threes while taking on the opponents' best perimeter player on the defensive end. Meanwhile, Braun may be an athletic guard who is feisty on defense, but he doesn't have nearly as much gravity as Caldwell-Pope does from the perimeter.

Braun shot 22.2 percent from three in 12 playoff games in 2024; teams will be daring him to shoot, and it's fair to wonder if he could make enough threes to make opposing defenses pay. Thus, the Nuggets may have to look into acquiring a contingency option, especially when another of the team's in-house options, Julian Strawther, may not be ready yet for a starting role.

Who can Denver acquire in free agency or via trade?

At this point in free agency, there isn't a 3-and-D player left in the mold of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The best the Nuggets can hope for is to sign a sharpshooter and hope that he performs well enough on defense to warrant heavy minutes. Perhaps the Nuggets could find a way to sign Gary Trent Jr. on a bargain deal, or maybe they decide to just stock up on depth by adding Cedi Osman or by bringing back Malik Beasley.

As far as minimum contract options go, the Nuggets could maybe bring in Reggie Bullock, re-sign Justin Holiday, or nab Lonnie Walker IV. Suffice to say, these options aren't too enticing and are in no way fit to handle a starting job for the contending Nuggets.

The trade market will be interesting to monitor; with the selection of DaRon Holmes II, the Nuggets could have their backup center of the future, making Zeke Nnaji expendable. However, with a contract worth just $8.9 million, Denver won't exactly have too many options to choose from in a potential trade.

Could Nnaji plus a few draft picks be enough for the Chicago Bulls to give up Ayo Dosunmu? Maybe the Nuggets could convince the Washington Wizards to trade away Corey Kispert.