The Collective Bargaining Agreement has put all the NBA franchises on alert. After the Suns, the Warriors and possibly the Celtics are waiting to fall into the pit of CBA’s constraints as every step from the franchises has to be measured. The Nuggets are also observant of the scenario and their hesitance to act out of CBA’s fear just cost them Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The experienced stalwart of the 2023 championship-winning side left for the Orlando Magic via free agency and there was not much of an effort to keep hold of him.

With the Nuggets only $720,978 away from hitting the first apron, GM Calvin Booth refused to react to stop the exit, and understandably so. After all, there is a silver lining to his exit. More on that later, but how can we determine the lack of effort from the Nuggets front office in KCP’s contract negotiation? The answer came from the person in question, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope himself.

KCP lifted the lid over some unanswered questions during his introductory interview with the Magic. “It took a while to think about it, I would say, to make my decision on if I want to leave or not,” KCP said after a long pause when asked about his decision to leave the Nuggets. “But no sense of me waiting to see if they [Denver] was gonna come back with an offer or offer me anything,” he added, confirming that the Nuggets did not approach him for an extension.

KCP joined the Nuggets in 2022 with the championship pedigree the franchise was in search of. His 46.2-42.3-82.4 shooting split during the Nuggets’ championship season underlined his value to the franchise. His two-way workload made him an important piece in Micheal Malone‘s side. In both the seasons he spent in Denver, KCP averaged more than 10 points per game. His championship-clinching rebound in game 5 against the Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals is still a moment to savor for the Nuggets fans.

Seeing him leave was a bitter pill to swallow for the Ball Arena regulars. But there is a silver lining in KCP’s exit.

How does Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leaving the Nuggets affect the franchise?

The Nuggets, because of their cap space, have failed to improve the roster that lost out to the Timberwolves in the playoffs. Now with KCP leaving the side, the question that comes to mind is: Do the Nuggets have a solution to that?

“All the stuff I’ve looked at with lineup stuff and everything, Christian Braun is one of the best net rating guys in the league — as is KCP. So I think if he’s to step into the starting lineup, I would project that we’ll be OK if KCP doesn’t return,” Calvin Booth recently said in an interview. So the solution is there already, and it is Christian Braun.

Ohm Youngmisuk also highlighted it on the latest episode of “The Hoop Collective”. The ESPN reporter discussed the issue with Brian Windhorst and Andrew Lopez and said, “I can understand that their fans are a little frustrated because losing KCP is such a critical piece to what they do. I mean, he does all the dirty work. He obviously was perhaps the best defender, obviously a 3-and-D guy.”

“And so now, we’ve been talking about Christian Braun now for a couple of years about his potential. And he’s played great in Spurs and now he’s gonna be thrusted into that role to basically fill that spot,” Youngmisuk further added.

Braun is yet to have his breakout season but his 46.0% field scoring and 38.4% 3-pts shooting prove his threat as a shooting guard. Even with the underlying numbers, the net rating shows the Nuggets outscored opponents by 3 points per 100 possessions with Braun on the court.

That doesn’t make Braun an instant replacement for a player of KCP’s caliber, but given the financial situation, building from within is important for the Nuggets. They also consider Russell Westbrook as a potential move to Denver, but they see him more as a bench option rather than a starter.

Booth highlighted that last year.“I just want dudes that we try to develop, and it’s sustainable. If it costs us the chance to win a championship this year, so be it. It’s worth the investment. It’s more about winning three out of six, three out of seven, four out of eight than it is about trying to go back-to-back,” the Nuggets General Manager was quoted as saying by The Ringer.

It certainly cost the Nuggets last season, but the target is to create a consistent winning culture rather than winning and fizzling out like the Raptors, and the Bucks of recent seasons. Booth and his front office have taken the lesson from that and this can be the only upside, the only silver lining in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s unwanted exit.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video