Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will leave the Denver Nuggets to sign a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic, as reported by USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Caldwell-Pope, 31, was a valuable part of the Nuggets’ 2023 NBA championship team in addition to the 2023-24 squad. In two seasons with Denver, he averaged 10.4 points, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 42% on 3-pointers.
The Nuggets wanted to bring Caldwell-Pope back on his $15.4 million player option. But the veteran opted out, banking that he could score a more lucrative deal in free agency. He quickly showed the wisdom of that move by agreeing to a deal with the Magic, who now add more scoring, better shooting and defense for the guard and wing positions.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leaving the Denver Nuggets and headed to the Orlando Magic on a three-year deal, I’m told.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) June 30, 2024
Denver is expected to fill its starting shooting guard spot with Christian Braun, now that Caldwell-Pope is moving elsewhere.
Caldwell-Pope reportedly also drew interest from the Philadelphia 76ers, but all signs are pointing to signing Paul George to fill that wing spot. The Detroit Pistons, who originally drafted him in 2013 out of Georgia, also would have liked to add a veteran shooter and defender like Caldwell-Pope, but he wasn’t going to win there.
During his career, Caldwell-Pope has also won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. He’s averaged 11.4 points, three rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game during his 11 NBA seasons.
