Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

[THE J0KER]

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (KCP), a former 8th draft pick and Lakers SG starter in all 21 playoff games when they last time won the title in 2020 (which includes the WCF series vs Nuggets) comes this summer to Denver via trade involving Will Barton and Monte Morris. KCP didn't fulfill (so far) big expectations from his younger ages, but he is arguable a perfect fit for the Denver team as a 3&D shooting guard. Starter or not /compete with Hyland), I see close to 30 mpg for him in Denver's standard rotation this season, especially if we know Malone's love for 3-guards rotations.

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Welcome to Denver Nuggets KCP!

[skywalker33]

Just got extended 2yr @$15M per

[TunaFish]

With Caldwell-Pope now locked in, all five Denver starters are under contract for at least three seasons. That includes Jokic, the two-time reigning MVP who re-signed on a super max deal earlier in the offseason. The Nuggets are committed to keeping this group together through his age-29 season and trying to win the first championship in team history.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kentavious-caldwell-pope-agrees-to-two-year-30-million-extension-with-nuggets-per-report/

[THE J0KER]

I said already on the other thread that without KCP extension our trade with Washington will be very unbalanced, so now everything has more sense. I hoped for 10M deal, but I guess this is new reality, and our space for new players is closed now.

[Manolito]

Once you trade for him, it made sense to extend KCP's contract to avoid another Jerami Grant situation. IMO that last year PO makes the deal slightly overpay, but KCP is 29 and we should expect similar performance the next years.

Now Nuggets roster is almost closed for the next two seasons. Only open situation is Brown's case. If he performs well (I hope so), we have no money to extend his contract beyond 7.6M$. Tough case, I think he is going to be very valuable and underpaid.

Murray Bones Gillespie
KCP Brown? Braun
Gordon Reed Watson
MPJ Nnaji Cancar
Jokic Kamagate XXX

Solid young roster with some upside. Almost no margin to add some pieces, only some SRP with a 15M TPE

[NuggetsWY]

Malone likes a nine-man rotation and this roster is set for that.

No bets on who starts besides Jokic & Murray

Jokic - Jordan
Green - Gordon
Porter - Brown
Pope
Murray - Bones

That's five forwards, all of whom can play two and maybe three positions.
Lots of defense from our forwards and all are capable of scoring too

[TunaFish]

Malone likes a nine-man rotation and this roster is set for that.

No bets on who starts besides Jokic & Murray

Jokic - Jordan
Green - Gordon
Porter - Brown
Pope
Murray - Bones

That's five forwards, all of whom can play two and maybe three positions.
Lots of defense from our forwards and all are capable of scoring too

Good to see you again. I think you accidently switched Gordon and Green because I don't see any way that Gordon doesn't start.. At 6'4" I like Brown better backing up Caldwell-Pope. Nnaji is going to play somewhere, probably a big but I could see him substituting with MPJ because of perimeter shooting and Jokic if Jordan is out.

I see a 10 man rotation during the regular season (because of Nnaji) and shortened for playoffs.

[skywalker33]

Was thinking about it, with MPJ and Murray back, our floor spacing should be much-improved, opening up the paint. While KCP is a decent shooter himself, how is he at driving to the basket ?

[TunaFish]

Was thinking about it, with MPJ and Murray back, our floor spacing should be much-improved, opening up the paint. While KCP is a decent shooter himself, how is he at driving to the basket ?

Very strong, at least when I watched him in the past, particularly at Detroit and LA Lakers. Good all round game with out being spectacular at any one skill, I think fairly summarizes KCP. His resume is a good 2-way starter who brings chemistry to the team without being a top scorer.

You can see the clock ticking in Booth's brain about using KCP and Brown at shooting guard with perimeter defense added and emphasizing the scoring punch at the point guard position. This is about rebalancing the team around its core 3 players and allowing Bones to fire it up often from the bench.

KCP (and Brown) will help that happen. If Denver gets over the top, then we will look back at this trade as the cornerstone to that happening.

[NuggetsWY]

Malone likes a nine-man rotation and this roster is set for that.

No bets on who starts besides Jokic & Murray

Jokic - Jordan
Green - Gordon
Porter - Brown
Pope
Murray - Bones

That's five forwards, all of whom can play two and maybe three positions.
Lots of defense from our forwards and all are capable of scoring too

Good to see you again. I think you accidently switched Gordon and Green because I don't see any way that Gordon doesn't start.. At 6'4" I like Brown better backing up Caldwell-Pope. Nnaji is going to play somewhere, probably a big but I could see him substituting with MPJ because of perimeter shooting and Jokic if Jordan is out.

I see a 10 man rotation during the regular season (because of Nnaji) and shortened for playoffs.

Thanks - I'm still struggling with my health but I'm beginning to believe the doctors have figured some things out - with more to go.

You missed a small phrase in my original post LOL - so it's bigger up above .

I'm not even trying to guess who is better than whom but I will try to choose a "best starting 5" with a "solid bench". That may mean someone that is better than someone else will come off the bench. Basically the three starters must fit with Jokic & Murray.

Let's see what I can do with that...

Jokic -- Gordon -- Porter -- Brown -- Murray

Our big three has to include Porter IMO
Gordon brings in defense and energy and boards
Brown's a big SG but he can play it and he brings defense with shooting

Jordan -- Green -- Pope should be the heart of the bench
and I'd add Nnaji but am not sure Malone will agree

My choices are light on PG but with Jokic in there plus the veterans that have fair handles -- I think we'll be fine.

Don't bet against Hyland getting some SG minutes though (even if he is listed at PG by most)

[Richard Miller]

Jordan -- Green -- Pope should be the heart of the bench

They didn't pay KCP 30 mil. to sit on the bench, no chance he's part of the bench unless he's really terrible

[TunaFish]

Malone likes a nine-man rotation and this roster is set for that.

No bets on who starts besides Jokic & Murray

Jokic - Jordan
Green - Gordon
Porter - Brown
Pope
Murray - Bones

That's five forwards, all of whom can play two and maybe three positions.
Lots of defense from our forwards and all are capable of scoring too

Good to see you again. I think you accidently switched Gordon and Green because I don't see any way that Gordon doesn't start.. At 6'4" I like Brown better backing up Caldwell-Pope. Nnaji is going to play somewhere, probably a big but I could see him substituting with MPJ because of perimeter shooting and Jokic if Jordan is out.

I see a 10 man rotation during the regular season (because of Nnaji) and shortened for playoffs.

Thanks - I'm still struggling with my health but I'm beginning to believe the doctors have figured some things out - with more to go.

You missed a small phrase in my original post LOL - so it's bigger up above .

I'm not even trying to guess who is better than whom but I will try to choose a "best starting 5" with a "solid bench". That may mean someone that is better than someone else will come off the bench. Basically the three starters must fit with Jokic & Murray.

Let's see what I can do with that...

Jokic -- Gordon -- Porter -- Brown -- Murray

Our big three has to include Porter IMO
Gordon brings in defense and energy and boards
Brown's a big SG but he can play it and he brings defense with shooting

Jordan -- Green -- Pope should be the heart of the bench
and I'd add Nnaji but am not sure Malone will agree

My choices are light on PG but with Jokic in there plus the veterans that have fair handles -- I think we'll be fine.

Don't bet against Hyland getting some SG minutes though (even if he is listed at PG by most)

It is always good to see a message from you and I hope you are getting better. I know from your past threads that you are up to speed with starters and I was just kidding about the obvious.

KCP (Caldwell-Pop) is the likely starter in my mind at shooting guard just as he did with the Wizards and Lakers. Brown will be perfect on the bench even though he started in Brooklyn. They both bring defensive intensity that is needed and they are somewhat interchangeable. Braun is also out there and will compete for playing time.

I think all of us are excited tp see what Bones brings, to the point where you have to rub your eyes to believe how lucky the Nuggets are to have drafted him. He could play any guard position but he is a great ball handler, to the point that he is likely to play even with Murray but more likely to back him up. His only weakness is (always a problem with young players) defensive rotation. I think with his long arms and quickness, he is a natural defensive player. As a shooter he may be the best on the team, although Murray will have something to say about that.

As a long time fan of the Nuggets, you probably remember Jokic's rookie season where he averaged 10 points a game playing 20 minutes per game, playing primarily as a backup to Nurkic. Interestingly, Bones averaged about the same. Not saying Bones is the next Jokic but his scoring ability is simply amazing and if given an opportunity, I expect him to excel as well.

[NuggetsWY]

Jordan -- Green -- Pope should be the heart of the bench

They didn't pay KCP 30 mil. to sit on the bench, no chance he's part of the bench unless he's really terrible

You're probably right -- I seldom even consider salary but look at fit and what's best for the team.

I also know that Malone has his own way of doing things and I'm not sure he considers salary. I'm more certain that he doesn't always use players based on what the front office wants (or the fans ).

[Richard Miller]

I also know that Malone has his own way of doing things and I'm not sure he considers salary. I'm more certain that he doesn't always use players based on what the front office wants (or the fans ).

Yea, but he likes his veterans, especially if they are defensive-minded and KCP fits both.

[Ugly0598]

I’ve always been a KCP guy, I’m interested to see what he brings to the table versus Will Barton.

[skywalker33]

I’ve always been a KCP guy, I’m interested to see what he brings to the table versus Will Barton.

It’s called DEFENSE

[The Rebel]

I’ve always been a KCP guy, I’m interested to see what he brings to the table versus Will Barton.

Defense and not trying to iso all the time is going to be the biggest things.