Much has been made of the Nuggets letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope go this offseason. He was a key starter in Denver and helped the team win the championship in 2023. But KCP declined his player option and the team famously decided to let him go to keep financial flexibility open for future years and at the same time place a big bet on the offspring. untested players.

As far as Nuggets fans are concerned, it was mostly a case that stayed out of sight and out of mind for Caldwell-Pope. He signed with the Orlando Magic, said goodbye to Denver and peacefully went his own way, the way with another team.

He’s a great, experienced leader and defender and it’s no coincidence that he’s been a starter for championship teams in his last two appearances. The Nuggets know he won’t be easy to replace. They trust the likes of Christian Braun and Julian Strawther to step up, but it will take time for anyone to reach KCP’s level.

But at the end of the day, the Nuggets felt the price had simply gotten too high. They wanted to keep their books open, knowing they would soon have to extend Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon while already paying Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. top contracts.

We haven’t heard many reports from Orlando, but this is a young team with a lot of potential and talent. The signing of KCP should bring a great, experienced leader to a team that is looking to make a big jump this year and catapult itself into contention in the Eastern Conference.

The calling card of this young Magic team has been their defense, and that is Caldwell-Pope’s specialty. And it seems KCP fits like a glove and loves what he sees, as he recently commented to the media:

“This is the first team I’m a part of where everyone enjoys playing defense.”

Caldwell-Pope was obviously trying to appeal to his new teammates and their defensive abilities, but it’s hard not to notice the subtle dig at his former teams and teammates. His most recent team is the Nuggets, who he played for the last two seasons.

They had a top-10 defense and were good enough to win a title, but the Nuggets’ calling card was their offense. Players like Jokic, Murray and Porter Jr. have come a long way in this regard, but no one would mistake them for defensive specialists.

The Nuggets have received plenty of bulletin board material from all sides lately, but this is the first from a former player. It’s just one more critic to add to the list and one more reason to be motivated to mount a catch-up season.