ESPN: Orlando Magic's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a Newcomer to Watch This NBA Season

The NBA offseason delivered with its usual player movement cycle. According to ESPN, the Orlando Magic's new pickup in the backcourt – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – is one of the league's same faces in a new place to watch.

Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) walks off the court during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers in game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. / Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images

To some, the NBA's offseason player movement cycle is one of the league's most intriguing processes. Blockbuster decisions dominate the headlines months away from the teams' actual return to the floor, where the real impact of the additions and subtractions made in the dog days of July and August can finally be measured.

This circuit was no different. New CBA regulations have changed how these moves come about, but stars still found new homes for the 2024-25 NBA season, which inches ever closer.

The Orlando Magic, thanks to some smart money management regarding the timeline of eventual paydays for some of its best players, entered this summer as one of the market's power wielders. Orlando had cash to spend and was looking to make educated decisions that propel the Magic forward, building upon the foundation of last season's 47-win campaign.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was who the Magic opted for, coming to an agreement with the two-time NBA champion hours into free agency. A three-year, $66-million deal landed the 31-year-old two-guard in downtown Orlando, going off of fit versus taking a bigger swing on the likes of Paul George or Klay Thompson – both players who were seeking new homes this summer.

Now keying in on training camp, which begins in just two weeks, Orlando's offseason work is mostly done. In an exercise where ESPN's Chris Herring and Kevin Pelton looked around the league at some of the most intriguing newcomers to teams to watch this season, Herring cited Caldwell-Pope's addition for good reason.

The two-time NBA champion is one of the league's best role players and adds immediate seasoning to a young Magic roster that's looking to build on its playoff appearance this past season. Caldwell-Pope, 31, gives Orlando yet another strong wing defender to pair with stoppers Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac. More specifically, he also gives the Magic something they sorely lacked in 2023-24: perimeter shooting. No team made fewer 3s than Orlando last season, but Caldwell-Pope has hit more than 100 in each of his past four campaigns -- shooting over 40% on his 3s during that stretch.

- Chris Herring, ESPN

The article also mentions the likes of Mikal Bridges to New York, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein to Oklahoma City and George to Philadelphia among a host of other moves that took place during the NBA's time away.

But KCP's inclusion shows there's a real focus on the Magic this season and what they'll be capable of doing given another year of experience for its core and its pairing with Caldwell-Pope.

Should Orlando once again be a player in the East with eyes for the top of the conference, it would likely be a byproduct of his impact giving the Magic what they haven't had in the past.

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