Heading into the offseason, the Denver Nuggets were never going to be the big winners in free agency.
Sure, the team still had ways to improve its depth in the mid-level exception for taxpayers, a first- and second-round draft pick, and Bird’s rights to its most prominent free agent, but they didn’t have the cap space of a team like Philadelphia, Orlando, or OKC, or the pick wealth like the New York Knicks necessarily have to make a massive trade for a high-profile addition. If another team were to compete for the same player they wanted, that team would likely win out, even if the chance to compete for a title with a multiple-time MVP might sway some aging veterans late in their careers.
Unfortunately, that’s pretty much 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 his big step into contention.
Now, for the Magic, this deal is a fantastic one, as their best player, Paolo Banchero, is still on his rookie contract, and the only max deal they have on their books belongs to Franz Wagner, who just secured the deal earlier this summer. Putting KCP in the two-man spot between German National Team member Jalen Suggs instantly improves the Magic’s offense without sacrificing any defense, and as a result, the rest of their rotation can fit into more appropriate roles based on their current skills.
As for the Nuggets? Well, they lose KCP when they could have matched Orlando’s offer (assuming Caldwell-Pope wasn’t willing to take a home-field discount) and now they find themselves with a question mark at the two-guard spot, as even if he played well off the bench, there’s no way to know how Christian Braun will handle a bigger role, let alone how a player like Julian Strawther will adapt when given a sixth-man role.
Considering the loss of Reggie Jackson (and three second-round picks) versus the signing of Dario Saric, it makes sense that Nuggets fans on social media are feeling a little disappointed with how the offseason has played out.
Calvin Booth believes the Nuggets can withstand KCP’s departure
While Nuggets fans may have been surprised to see Denver let Caldwell-Pope walk in free agency for nothing, as teams typically don’t choose to break up the core of their championship roster when they have the tools to re-sign him under the salary cap — a stark contrast to Bruce Brown’s situation last year — one person who isn’t concerned about the starting five and the rotation in general is Calvin Booth, the team’s general manager.
Speaking about free agency shortly before the opening bell, Booth told local media that while he would love to keep KCP on the roster going forward, he wasn’t going to worry about the decision as he felt comfortable enough with 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, so to speak, plug and play. 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 keep moving forward,” Calvin Booth told reporters via 9 News.
“It would be nice to have him back, they have a lot of continuity together, but I think from everything I’ve looked at with the lineup and all that, Christian Braun is one of the best net rating players in the league, as is KCP. So I think if he gets into the starting lineup like he’s probably projected to, you know, we’ll be fine if KCP doesn’t come back.”
Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they’ve already lost one of their key players heading into the season to injury: rookie DaRon Holmes, the 21-year-old power forward from Dayton who Denver acquired in a trade after showing some 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 thins out the rotation a bit more and could ultimately force the Nuggets to sign a role player like Justin Holiday to help fill out their roster.
