2-time NBA champion set to become free agent
Jan 23, 2020; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) warms up before his game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
A two-time NBA champion is set to become a free agent.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is declining his $15.4 million player option for the 2024-2025 NBA season and will instead become a free agent.
Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is declining his $15.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season to become a free agent, sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba. Caldwell-Pope – a two-time NBA champion – is expected to receive interest from multiple teams with salary cap space. pic.twitter.com/R1P8fhqBfn
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
Caldwell-Pope has spent the past two seasons with the Denver Nuggets and helped them win the championship in 2022-2023. He played in exactly 76 games in each of the last two regular seasons, starting all of the contests. The 31-year-old guard averaged 10.4 points per game during his Nuggets career and shot 41.5 percent on three-point attempts.
Caldwell-Pope was a first-round pick by the Detroit Pistons in 2013 and played with them for four seasons before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017. He played four seasons with the Lakers and was part of their championship-winning team in 2021. KCP was traded to Washington in 2021 as part of a 5-team trade that also brought Russell Westbrook to the Lakers. The Wizards traded Caldwell-Pope to the Nuggets a year later.
Caldwell-Pope earned $30.1 million over his two seasons in Denver and is hoping to sign a longer-term deal in free agency to earn more than the 1-year, $15.4 million option he had for next season. The Orlando Magic have already been mentioned as a possible suitor for him.