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Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth forecasted a scenario in which Denver doesn’t retain Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency Wednesday night, expressing confidence in Christian Braun as the potential next man up.
“I think we have to look at everything, and the nature of free agency is, he’s unrestricted,” Booth said of Caldwell-Pope during a Ball Arena news conference after the first round of the draft.
“So we can try to bring him back, and if he doesn’t want to come back or opts to go somewhere else, that’s his prerogative. So we’ll have to work with that. But I think we’re prepared to plug and play, so to speak.”
Booth cited Braun’s net rating as an encouraging indicator of the 23-year-old’s ability to replace Caldwell-Pope in the starting lineup if needed. Braun’s individual net rating for the 2023-24 season was only 0.7 compared to Caldwell-Pope’s 11.3, but Braun played primarily with bench lineups while Caldwell-Pope shared the floor with league MVP Nikola Jokic for 91% of his minutes.
In the 28 minutes when Braun was used in a five-man lineup alongside Denver’s other four starters, the Nuggets outscored opponents by 8.6 points per 100 possessions. And when Braun shared the floor with Jokic (47% of his minutes), his net rating was 15.4.
Braun’s defense in particular excelled when the Nuggets needed him during the playoffs. He guarded Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards effectively in the second round while Caldwell-Pope was inconsistent in the matchup. Denver coach Michael Malone used Braun in closing lineups later in the series, in place of Michael Porter Jr.
“I think (for) Christian Braun, it’s all going to come down to one thing,” Malone said in his end-of-season news conference. “To be a shooting guard in the NBA, you’ve got to be able to make shots. It’s the bottom line.”
Caldwell-Pope won’t officially become a pending UFA until he declines his $15.4 million player option, which he is expected to do by the deadline Saturday. Free agency negotiations are allowed to begin between all teams and players at 4 p.m. MT Sunday. The Nuggets have KCP’s Bird rights, but the second tax apron will present challenges to future roster-building if they re-sign Caldwell-Pope.
“I think when you look at some of the teams that have been good in the past, they have to find a way to replace fourth, fifth starters, sixth men off the bench and still keep rolling,” Booth said. “… I think if (Braun) has to step into the starting lineup, I think we’ll be OK, if KCP doesn’t return.”
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