General manager Calvin Booth of the Denver Nuggets spoke with media after the 2024 NBA Draft’s first round to go over the team’s selection of DaRon Holmes II. Concerning the future of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, he was also questioned. Unrestricted free agency is likely in Caldwell-Pope’s future after he turns down his player option for the 2024–25 season. The essence of free agency is that he is unfettered, so it’s important to consider all factors, Booth remarked. So we can see if we can get him back, but if he changes his mind or goes somewhere else, that’s his choice. Because of it, we will have to make do.
I believe we are ready to “plug and play,” if you will. Past successful teams often had to figure out how to play with four or five starters out of the lineup or six guys off the bench and yet maintain a high level of performance. If he were to return, we may have a lot of consistency, but according to everything I’ve looked at about lineups and everything, Christian Braun and KCP are two of the league’s finest net rating players. “It is my prediction that we will be able to proceed without KCP if he is to start in the starting lineup.”
In 2023–24, Caldwell–Pope shot 46.0% from the field, 40.6% from outside the arc, and 89.4% from the foul line. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.6 blocks. In 2023, the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in five games to win the championship. However, this year, they were defeated in seven games by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs. The Nuggets, the Washington Wizards, the Detroit Pistons, and the Los Angeles Lakers are among Caldwell-Pope’s previous teams. Through his career, he has averaged 11.4 points, 3.0 boards, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks.
KCP has won the NBA title twice. In 2020, he led the Lakers to a six-game championship victory over the Heat in a Walt Disney World bubble.
