In just one month, the Nuggets have changed their tune quite a bit regarding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. At the end of May, Calvin Booth, the GM, assured that the rear had been “an excellent recruit over the last two years” and that the franchise “would like him to stay”whatever the cost.
Indeed, with his last year of contract option at $15.4 million, if it is activated or if he extends his contract, the 2020 and 2023 champion will blow up the Nuggets' accounts and plunge them into very dark red. But, faced with this fear of sanctions for having spent too much, Calvin Booth said, “It’s intimidating, but I don’t think it’s our priority”.
The rear could also not activate his option and become free, to look elsewhere or why not stay in Colorado, in the longer term. But four weeks after the first comments, the Denver leader is no longer on the same register.
“We can try to get him to come back and if he doesn’t want to, to go elsewhere, it’s his right and we’ll have to deal with it,” ad Calvin Booth. “We are ready to do everything we can. If you look at other good teams in the past, they had to find a way to replace the fourth or fifth starter, or a sixth man, and still be good. It would be good if he came back, for our continuity. But if we look at our squad, Christian Braun has one of the best net ratings in the league. »
And to conclude: “If Kentavious Caldwell-Pope doesn't come back, with Braun in the major five, we can get by. » The Nuggets therefore seem already prepared for a departure from their back, perhaps out of spite because, weighed down by their finances, they will not be able to offer better salaries than other teams, like Philadelphia and Orlando for example, who would have an eye on “KCP.”
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2013-14 | DET | 80 | 20 | 39.6 | 31.9 | 77.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 5.9 |
| 2014-15 | DET | 82 | 32 | 40.1 | 34.5 | 69.6 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 12.7 |
| 2015-16 | DET | 76 | 37 | 42.0 | 30.9 | 81.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 14.5 |
| 2016-17 | DET | 76 | 33 | 39.9 | 35.0 | 83.2 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 13.8 |
| 2017-18 | LAL | 74 | 33 | 42.6 | 38.3 | 78.9 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 13.4 |
| 2018-19 | LAL | 82 | 25 | 43.0 | 34.7 | 86.7 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 11.4 |
| 2019-20 | LAL | 69 | 26 | 46.7 | 38.5 | 77.5 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 9.4 |
| 2020-21 | LAL | 67 | 28 | 43.1 | 41.0 | 86.6 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 9.8 |
| 2021-22 | W.A.S. | 77 | 30 | 43.5 | 39.0 | 89.0 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 13.2 |
| 2022-23 | DEN | 76 | 31 | 46.2 | 42.3 | 82.4 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 10.8 |
| 2023-24 | DEN | 76 | 32 | 46.0 | 40.6 | 89.4 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 10.1 |
| Total | 835 | 30 | 42.7 | 36.9 | 81.9 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 11.4 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
