DENVER — Denver Nuggets General Manager Calvin Booth hinted at the potential departure of a key member of the franchise's only championship team on Thursday.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who also won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, declined his $15.4 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent, Shams Charnia with Stadium was the first to report.
Forbes NBA reporter Evan Sidery reports the shooting guard's market is expected to approach $25 million annually, and that the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic were among potential suitors.
"He's unrestricted, so we can try to bring him back, and if he doesn't want to come back or chooses to go somewhere else, that's his prerogative, so we'll have to work with that," Booth said Thursday.
"I think we're prepared to like, plug and play so to speak," he said. "If you look at teams that have been good in the past, they have to find a way to replace, you know, fourth and fifth starters, sixth men off the bench, and still keep rolling."
Booth said he feels confident in third-year guard Christian Braun out of the University of Kansas filling Caldwell-Pope's role.
"It'll be nice if he's back, they have a lot of continuity together, but I think 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," Booth said.
"So I think, if he's to step into the starting lineup like probably projected, you know, we'll be okay if KCP doesn't return," Booth said.
The sharpshooting guard is entering his 12th season in the NBA after being selected 8th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2013 NBA Draft out of the University of Georgia.
He spent his first four seasons in Detriot before leaving in free agency for Los Angeles. He spent four seasons there before he was traded to the Washington Wizards in a deal that sent Russell Westbrook to the Lakers.
He's spent his last two seasons in Denver, helping the franchise win its first championship while averaging 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.5 blocks across 152 regular season games. During that time he's hit 1.7 out of 4.1 three-point attempts per game, good for a 41.5% conversion rate.
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