Calvin Booth's draft day comments felt like an omen for an inevitable loss.
Whether inevitable or not, it became reality Sunday.
The Nuggets have lost their championship team's fifth starter in free agency, as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agreed to a three-year, $66 million contract with the Orlando Magic, according to reports from USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Caldwell-Pope declined his $15.4 million player option with Denver earlier this week to enter unrestricted free agency, a marketplace where the Nuggets didn't retain him despite having his full Bird rights. Re-signing Caldwell-Pope at the average annual salary he received from Orlando ($22 million) would have caused the Nuggets' roster payroll to cross the second tax apron, limiting their other options in free agency.
Caldwell-Pope spent two seasons in Denver, winning his second career NBA title in 2023. He averaged 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals as a Nugget, shooting 41.5% from 3-point range.
He also received 11 NBA All-Defensive Team votes last season after registering a defensive field goal percentage of 44%, often while guarding opponents' star players. According to data from Second Spectrum, opponents shot 40.6% from the floor when Caldwell-Pope was the closest defender. That number led the league among all players who were the closest defender for at least 500 shots.
The 31-year-old shooting guard will supplement a young core in Orlando led by Paolo Banchero. He'll also form an elite defensive backcourt alongside Jalen Suggs. The Magic reached the playoffs in 2024 by posting a winning record for the first time since 2019, ultimately losing to Cleveland in seven games in the first round. Orlando has not won a playoff series since 2010, but it's a franchise poised to take the next step after finishing last season with the No. 3 defense in the league.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, are prepared to move Christian Braun into the starting lineup to replace Caldwell-Pope — as Booth made clear last Wednesday in a news conference that foreshadowed Sunday's events.
"I think when you look at some of the teams that have been good in the past, they have to find a way to replace fourth, fifth starters, sixth men off the bench and still keep rolling," Denver's general manager said. "… I think if (Braun) has to step into the starting lineup, I think we'll be OK, if KCP doesn't return."
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