Who would have ever thought that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a two-time NBA champion, would be signing with the Orlando Magic because he wants a third ring?
You heard me, KCP — as he’s known in NBA circles — actually thinks a franchise that has never won a championship in its 35 years of existence is ready to become a serious contender.
“I’m always chasing a championship,” said KCP, the former Denver Nuggets guard who was introduced to the Orlando media Saturday after signing a 3-year, $66 million free agent contract with the Magic. “Seeing the progress of this team [last season], making it to the playoffs, taking Cleveland to a Game 7, that was enough for me. They got a little taste of the pressure and now they know what it takes to get past the first round. … I want to bring a championship mentality to this team.”
Believe me, if you’re a Magic fan, you’re going to absolutely love this guy. When he talks about championship mentality, he’s not talking about scoring a bunch of points although he has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range in three of the last four seasons. So, yes, his 3-point accuracy will certainly help the offensively challenged Magic, but his ability to drain 3s is not the championship mentality he’s talking about.
He uses phrases like “fitting in” and “making sacrifices” and says words like “relentless” and “humble” when asked what makes up his championship mindset. And the first thing he talks about is defense, and you can tell it really bothers him that he didn’t join Magic guard Jalen Suggs on the NBA’s all-defensive team last season although he did get 11 votes. He is not shy when he says that he and Suggs might just be the best defensive backcourt in the league next season. “If we can focus on defense, everything else will fall into place,” KCP says. “Defense wins games, and defense will win you a championship.”
You know what else wins you games? Your best players actually playing in them. Which is yet another reason to love KCP, who, like many of us fans, seems to believe that load management is a load of manure. In the last 10 years, he’s played in 96 percent of his team’s regular-season games and has never played a season where he missed more than six games. In the NBA, it’s no secret that the best ability is availability.
Jeff Weltman, the Magic’s president of basketball operations, says KCP’s old-school and lunch-pail defensive-minded mentality will serve as a “championship model” for the Magic’s young stars like Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Weltman points out that KCP played more minutes than anybody on the team when the Denver Nuggets won the championship in 2023. Likewise, when the Lakers won the title in 2020, KCP played the third-most minutes on the team.
“KCP is a basketball guy’s basketball guy,” Weltman says. “He doesn’t have the sexy stats; he’s not a high scorer. But the stats that I have in mind — playing all of those minutes for championship teams and guarding the other team’s best player 97 percent of the time — those are the stats that excite guys like me.”
Translation: KCP isn’t just a glue guy; he’s a super-glue guy. Correction: He’s a polyurethane epoxy guy.
And that’s not just me talking; it’s everybody around the NBA. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, a four-time champion, was raving about the Magic’s signing earlier this week on his podcast.
“I think [signing KCP] is huge for the Magic,” Green said. “HUGE. KCP’s a great pro, and when teams start swinging for guys like KCP, that means: ‘We’re serious; we wanna make a run.’ They’re starting to go for it, and I respect that.”
ESPN.com NBA writer Chris Herring after the Magic came to terms with KCP: “The Orlando Magic have made the single-most impressive agreement of the offseason. … ”
Wrote The Athletic’s NBA writer Zach Harper: “What a coup for the Magic.”
To those Orlando fans earlier this week who seemed disappointed that the Magic didn’t break the bank and try to sign splashy free agent Paul George, don’t be dejected; be delighted. Signing the 34-year-old George to a 4-year, $212 million max deal would have been a mistake and put the Magic in salary-cap hell moving forward..
First of all, the Philadelphia 76ers were seemingly the only team willing to give George such a lucrative deal and that’s only because they were desperate. To keep their franchise center Joel Embiid happy, the 76ers had to make a major move and bring in another star to try to win a title before Embiid forced his way out of town.
The Magic aren’t nearly so anxious to add another high-priced star because they feel like they already have their stars in Banchero, Wagner and Suggs. It’s why the Magic on Friday agreed to a 5-year, $224 million maximum rookie extension for Wagner. Suggs is also eligible for a rookie extension and his new deal is currently being negotiated. And next season, of course, Banchero will get the max when he becomes eligible.
Weltman has said time and again that drafting and developing talent is still the “North Star” that will guide this team down a potential championship path. If you hit on the right draft picks — and it certainly appears the Magic have — then this is the correct strategy in today’s NBA. All you have to do is look at the last two NBA champions — the Celtics and the Nuggets. The Celtics’ two biggest stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, were acquired through the draft, as were the Nuggets two biggest stars, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
In addition, the two preceding NBA champions — the dynastic Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks — also acquired their star player/players through the draft. Gone are the days of winning championships by signing a bunch of superstar veterans (see Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets and, of course, the Lakers).
If everything goes according to plan, the Magic’s window of opportunity should open for a long time.
And with KCP now on the team, that window has suddenly been fortified with a championship pedigree.
Email me at [email protected]. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen
