Caldwell-Pope has a player option to decide on soon for the 2024-25 season. That will pay him over $15.4 million, but he could also believe in his ability to get a bigger bag in the offseason.
Via HoopsHype:
Heading into free agency, there’s also concern that guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could decline his $15.44 million player option, enter unrestricted free agency, and land a potential short-term offer for a higher salary annually comparable to Bruce Brown’s previous two-year, $45 million deal with Indiana.
Although the Nuggets have mostly been about the tandem of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Pope has been part of the success Denver has had over the past couple of seasons, notwithstanding the team’s second-round exit from the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Pope has started in all 152 games he appeared in for the Nuggets since he was traded to Denver by the Washington Nuggets along with Ish Smith for Monte Morris and Will Barton in 2022. Shortly after that trade, the former Georgia Bulldogs star, who was picked eighth overall in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, was signed by the Nuggets to a two-year, $30.15 million veteran contract extension.
Should he elect to decline his player option to test the waters of free agency, Pope should be able to generate enough interest from teams looking for a veteran with championship experience and proven ability to stretch the floor. Pope has shot 41.5 percent from behind the arc for Denver in two seasons with the team.
