The Philadelphia 76ers don't just want to sign Paul George in free agency. They want to sign George and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Caldwell-Pope, 31, started 76 games for the Denver Nuggets in each of the past two seasons. He was a crucial part of their 2023 title run (and the Los Angeles Lakers' 2020 title run), and he made 41.5% of his 3-point attempts in two seasons with the Nuggets. If he walks, Denver will lose its best point-of-attack defender, one of its few reliable floor-spacers and a connector who has thrived in a low-usage role ... for nothing.
And it sounds like that is exactly what's about to happen. If Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth's post-draft press conference (in which he brought up Christian Braun's net rating and said, "I think we'll be OK if KCP doesn't return") didn't make it obvious, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported that the team is "currently prepared to lose" Caldwell-Pope, and that both Philadelphia and the Orlando Magic are suitors. Caldwell-Pope already has a meeting lined up with the Magic, according to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, and, in addition to the aforementioned teams, the Indiana Pacers are interested in him, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
Caldwell-Pope, who is entering his 12th season, is looking for a "longer deal," according to the Denver Post. Philadelphia and Orlando could offer "upward of two years and $50 million," per Yahoo Sports. It's unclear what exactly it will take to get a deal done, but two-way wings who have proven they can perform in the playoffs are in short supply in free agency.
As for the Sixers scenario: Philadelphia is projected to have around $62 million in cap space. A max deal for George would start at approximately $49 million. It's unclear exactly what "cap gymnastics," as The Stein Line put it, Daryl Morey's front office would have to pull off in order to actually sign both George and Caldwell-Pope, but $13 million -- or, naturally, the $8 million room exception -- would not be a competitive starting salary for Caldwell-Pope.
