Magic sign shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Google Images)

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Sunday, the Denver Nuggets have signed shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of Thomaston, Georgia. The terms of the contract are three years and $66 million.

Caldwell-Pope is joining his fifth National Basketball Association franchise. He previously played four seasons with the Detroit Pistons from 2014 to 2017, four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2018 to 2021, one season with the Washington Wizards in 2021 to 2022, and two seasons with the Denver Nuggets from 2022 to 2024.

This past season in Denver, Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.1 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists per game, and 1.3 assists per game. He had a field goal percentage of .460, three-point percentage of .406, and a free throw percentage of .894.

Twice Caldwell-Pope won the NBA Finals. He was victorious with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 during the Orlando bubble, and then with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. In the 2020 NBA Finals, Caldwell-Pope had 77 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, six steals and one block as the Lakers beat the Heat in six games. Then in the 2023 NBA Finals, he had 37 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, seven steals, and six blocks as the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in five games.

The Magic are definitely a team in the NBA on the rise. Only two seasons ago in 2021-22, Orlando was the second worst team in the entire NBA with a record of 22 wins and 60 losses. The only team worse were the Houston Rockets at 20 wins and 62 losses. This past season the Magic made the playoffs at 47 wins and 35 losses, and will now add a NBA player with a winning track record in the postseason.