Jun 30, 2024, 9:00 p.m. ET
Sources revealed to ESPN that the Orlando Magic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will finalize a three-year agreement.
Free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is leaving the Denver Nuggets and finalizing a three-year, $66 million contract with the Orlando Magic, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday.
Caldwell-Pope, 31, has been a linchpin on both ends for the Nuggets since arriving in Denver two years ago, helping them win the 2022-23 title with his 3-point shooting and ability to guard opposing perimeter stars.
Sources revealed to ESPN that the Orlando Magic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will finalize a three-year agreement. Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
In each of his two seasons in Denver, Caldwell-Pope, a career 36.9% 3-point shooter, has eclipsed 40% from deep and also played in 76 games both years. As a defender, Caldwell-Pope allowed a league-best 40.6% field goal percentage as the closest defender last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, while often taking on the toughest assignment. .
The Magic exceeded expectations last season by winning 47 games, a 13-win improvement over the 2022-23 season and a 25-win jump over the 2021-22 season. They finished fifth in the Eastern Conference but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game first-round playoff series.
Caldwell-Pope’s shooting should help Orlando take another leap in 2024-25. The Magic ranked 22nd in offensive efficiency and 24th in 3-point shooting last regular season and were the only playoff team to rank in the bottom 10 in 3-point shooting.
Since being selected eighth in the 2013 NBA draft, Caldwell-Pope spent four years each with the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers before playing a single season with the Washington Wizards, where he landed after being part of the trade that brought Russell Westbrook to the Lakers.
Caldwell-Pope was then traded to the Nuggets ahead of the 2022-23 season, which ended with him claiming the second NBA championship in his 11-year NBA career.
Caldwell-Pope has played in 835 games since entering the NBA in 2013-14, the most in the NBA during that span.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
2024-07-01 01:00:00
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