‘This team is showing ambitions of winning the Championship’ – NBA Fans react as Denver Nuggets sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on two-year, $30M deal
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has reached a two-year, $30 million contract agreement with the Denver Nuggets. The figure is the maximum sum Caldwell-Pope could have acquired under the NBA’s extend-and-trade regulations. Denver handed back important players Monte Morris and Will Barton to the Washington Wizards in an offseason deal in order to get Caldwell-Pope.
To complete their renowned starting five, a 3-and-D shooting guard was what was sought after in the exchange. The Denver starting lineup of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon was dominant in the tiny sample we had seen of it.

In a trade on July 6 that sent guard Monte Morris and swingman Will Barton to the Washington Wizards, the Nuggets received Caldwell-Pope and guard Ish Smith. Caldwell-Pope played with Washington for just one season, starting all 77 games and averaging 13.2 points (his highest total in four years), 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
Caldwell-Pope was selected by the Pistons with the eighth overall choice in the 2013 NBA Draft. He played for Detroit for four seasons before joining the Los Angeles Lakers for another four. He contributed to the Lakers’ 2019–20 championship squad, scoring 10.7 points on average throughout the team’s postseason run.
In the last two seasons, Murray’s 2021 ruptured ACL prevented them from competing for the title. But now that Caldwell-Pope is the final member of their starting lineup, they have more defence and shooting than ever.
Now that Caldwell-Pope has a deal, all five of Denver’s starters are committed for at least three years. That includes Jokic, the two-time reigning MVP who earlier in the summer re-signed on a super-max contract. In order to win the first championship in the team’s history and maintain this group together until his age-29 season, the Nuggets are dedicated to doing so.
NBA Fans react as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signs for Nuggets
One fan tweeted, “Caldwell-Pope is a great player. The Nuggets know what they are doing” while another added, “The Nuggets are now showing ambition that they want to win the NBA Championship”
Here are a few more tweets regarding Caldwell-Pope’s contract extension with the Nuggets:
Wrote this about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope today before he and the Nuggets agreed to a 2-year extension. He would have been in demand if Denver let him get to free agency after next year. Nuggets now have their entire starting lineup under contract for the next 2+ seasons. pic.twitter.com/hRhm7tiuXr
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) July 14, 2022
Caldwell-Pope arrived in a trade with Washington for Will Barton and Monte Morris two weeks ago. KCP was entering the final year of his deal at $14M in 2022-2023. https://t.co/PZ1f0nEXCG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 14, 2022
The Pelicans should hire Kentavious Caldwell Pope as their Assistant Coach 😳
— Very Smart NBA Fan (@SmartNBATakes) July 13, 2022
“You have to love Caldwell Pope. You look at the stat sheet and you aren’t impressed, but he gets into your body on defense, moves the ball on offense, and hits the three ball at a high %. If you are a Laker fan, you miss him, because your point guard is O for 3 on those areas.” pic.twitter.com/OayZTsHl4Y
— Hubie Talks Hoops (@HubieTalksHoops) July 14, 2022
Despite being traded to Denver, Caldwell-Pope was eligible for an extension now as long as the term of the years did not exceed 3 seasons (including the current year) and the increase in salary did not exceed 5%.
Caldwell-Pope was on an expiring $14M contract. https://t.co/8sHPUJXnLe
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 14, 2022
Growing up is realizing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the 3rd-best player on a championship team. pic.twitter.com/KZnhZIEd5h
— Slam (@slamstudios) July 11, 2022
More NBA news:
-
How many NBA rings does Steph Curry have in comparison to Michael Jordan?
-
Steph Curry savagely trolls Kendrick Perkins for doubting Warriors winning another NBA Championship
Follow our NBA page for more key NBA updates and news