Kentavious Caldwell-Pope intends to sign 3-year, $66M deal with Magic: Sources

After a narrow first-round exit in the playoffs, the Orlando Magic improved their defense, toughness and outside shooting on Sunday when they He agreed to a three-year, $66 million deal with Kentavious Caldwell-PopeLeague sources said.

Caldwell-Pope, 31, will almost certainly take over as the Orlando Magic’s new starting goaltender, replacing Gary Harris, whose tenure in Orlando has been marred by injuries.

Caldwell-Pope could be the perfect player to add to a young core that includes All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, small forward Franz Wagner, and combo guard and standout defender Jalen Suggs.

Although the 6-foot-5 Caldwell-Pope has not received much recognition in NBA All-Defensive Team voting in recent years, he is widely regarded as one of the league’s most tenacious and reliable defenders, someone who can match up against the opposition’s best wing scorers.

He’s also one of the league’s best 3-point shooters. Over the past four seasons, Caldwell-Pope has made 40.6 percent of his 3-point attempts at 4.5 per game.

Three-point shooting was a major weakness for Orlando last season. Orlando finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 10-point lead. 24th in the league in three-point shooting percentagewhere he made only 35.2 percent of his attempts.

In the playoffs, with the Cleveland Cavaliers packing the paint and challenging the Magic to try to shoot from distance, The Magic sank just 30.9 percent of their three-point attempts.

Caldwell-Pope has made significant contributions to two NBA championship teams, the 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers and 2022-23 Denver Nuggets, as a primary wing. But he’s also known for his unselfishness. Considered a low-usage wing, he shouldn’t take away from Banchero and Wagner’s shooting attempts while also serving as an additional ball handler and decision maker when needed.

Caldwell-Pope, who spent the last two seasons with Denver, is also solid. He’s played in 76 or 77 games in each of the last three seasons. He’ll fit in well with a strong Magic defense that’s finished The 2023-24 regular season is third in the league in defensive efficiency.

Season 3 of Caldwell Pope The new deal will be an option for the player..

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(Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)