Magic ‘Avoided Worst Case Scenario’ by Signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

The Orlando Magic may have missed out on their No. 1 target, Paul George , but they did end up signing arguably the best role player available on the NBA free agency market in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope , who brings championship pedigree and experience to a young, up-and-coming team.

According to league insider Mark Medina, the Magic may have actually made the better move by signing Caldwell-Pope, who has also proven himself to be a healthy and available contributor over the years, unlike George, who has struggled with injuries.

Magic Making the Moves To Boost Playoff Aspirations

Added Caldwell-Pope, re-signed Harris, Bitadze, Mo and Franz Wagner

The Magic sought to capitalize on a season in which they arguably overachieved and exceeded expectations by reaching the playoffs as the fifth overall seed in the Eastern Conference by trying to be aggressive in the off-season, where they had listed Paul George and Klay Thompson as potential targets, as they had enough cap space available to sign a player to a max deal should the opportunity have presented itself.

However, with George choosing to join the Philadelphia 76ers on a four-year, $212 million deal, and Thompson opting to leave the Golden State Warriors after 13 years to team up with the Dallas Mavericks , Orlando had to turn their attention elsewhere.

Instead, they were able to bring in two-time NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets and L.A. Lakers , Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on a much more team-friendly contract than the one it would have taken to lure George, inking him to a three-year, $66 million deal.

Along with him, he brings championship equity to a relatively young and inexperienced team, as they continue to mold together and build a winning formula, with the Magic deciding to go in the direction of maintaining roster continuity, re-signing Gary Harris , Goga Bitadze and Moritz Wagner to new deals.

But perhaps their biggest move, aside from bringing in Caldwell-Pope was re-signing breakout star, Franz Wagner , who formed a formidable partnership with Paolo Banchero last season, to a five-year, $224 million rookie extension, cementing his place as one of their franchise cornerstones for years to come.

Caldwell-Pope Is a ‘Really Good’ Backup Option to Paul George

Medina argues that while Paul George was certainly the Magic’s priority target, due to both his injury history in the past, and the fact that they would likely have had to have given up some of the young core that helped the team be successful last season if they did sign him, that Caldwell-Pope was a great addition to the side, especially with his championship experience and ability as an effective two-way player.

Bringing a Championship Mindset to the Fold

Caldwell-Pope has won two championships with two different teams (Lakers, Nuggets)

Now 31-years-old and with 11 seasons of league experience under his belt, Caldwell-Pope has proven himself to be a winning player on a competitive team, having been an instrumental role player in both the Lakers and Nuggets’ title runs in 2019-20, and 2022-23, respectively.

Last season was no different, whereby he amassed 10.1 points on 46.0 percent shooting from the field, while also showcasing himself to be a reliable deep threat, shooting 40.6 percent from three, along with 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per outing.

While his numbers don’t necessarily leap off the page, his overall impact on the Nuggets last season cannot be understated, whereby Denver outscored their opponents by 11.3 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court – the second-most on the team behind Nikola Jokic (11.8), which fell to them being outscored by 4.0 points per 100 possessions when he was not out there on the hardwood with his teammates for a total points swing of 15.3 points.

A large part of that was due to his defensive effort, whereby he restricted his opponents to 44.3 percent shooting from the field overall, while he was extremely effective at defending the outside of the arc, holding his opponents to only 32.1 percent shooting from outside the perimeter, 4.8 percent fewer than their 36.9 percent three-point shooting average on the regular season.

While Denver desperately wanted to keep hold of Caldwell-Pope, he was simply unaffordable, and their loss was Orlando’s to gain.

So, with their off-season moves so far, and the expectation that the group will have developed even more chemistry together, the Magic may well have established themselves as true contenders in the East, though only time will tell, where they will come up against stiff opposition, such as the reigning champions,Boston Celtics, and the teams that have also strengthened over the summer, such as theNew York Knicksand 76ers.

But, the Magic have already surprised everybody once, so could they do it again next season? That remains to be seen, but teams all around the NBA may need to watch out because Orlando are certainly coming.

All statistics courtesy of Statmuse, ESPN, NBA.com and Basketball Reference.

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