Orlando, FL—Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the big free agent addition for the Orlando Magic this offseason, and many Magic fans at the time were thrilled with this signing.
NBA Trade Deadline on the Horizon
As of today, we’re 23 days away from the NBA trade deadline, and many fans are feeling a sense of urgency to make a move at the deadline to bolster this roster. The Magic have been rumored to be connected to many high-profile names such as De’Aaron Fox, Anfernee Simons, and Collin Sexton.
While I agree that all three of those players bring a unique talent and dynamic scoring punch to this team that is desperately needed, many factors need to be considered in this equation.
Who are you willing to give up? How much draft capital are you willing to give up? How do these contracts align with your ‘big three’ long-term? More importantly, how would this affect the team chemistry in the locker room, which we all know is very tight-knit?
KCP’s Stats This Season
Now moving on to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Orlando is at the midway mark of the season with a record of 23-18 and is fourth in the Eastern Conference. This is a perfect baseline to evaluate not only where the team is at, but also evaluate how the players are performing.
According to a lot of Magic fans KCP by many standards has been ‘underwhelming’. Statistically speaking in 39 games this season Caldwell-Pope has averaged 9.1 points and 1.6 steals, and shot a woeful 41.9% from the floor, and 31.9% from deep.
Why KCP Was Brought to Orlando
Let’s backtrack for a moment and discuss the reasons why KCP was brought to Orlando in the first place. For Jeff Weltman and the entire front office, there were a million reasons to feel inclined to bring KCP onto this young ascending Magic team. Caldwell-Pope had shown throughout his 11-year career he was durable, was an effective three-point shooter, had a championship pedigree, etc.
Defensively, Kentavious Cadlwell-Pope was a player who was going to fit the defensive identity of the Orlando Magic from day one. As a defender, Caldwell-Pope allowed a league-best 40.6% field goal percentage as the closest defender last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Since entering the league back in 2013-14, KCP has been very reliable in terms of his availability and as a consistent shooter. Entering this season, KCP played in 835 games which was the most over that span, and was a career 42.7% shooter from the field, and 36.9% shooter from behind the arch.
Most importantly, he was an integral part of two championship runs with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. And I cannot overemphasize enough how his veteran leadership and championship pedigree cannot be quantified with how infectious it is to his teammates and their growth.
Why Has KCP Struggled This Season
Now getting back to this season, yes his numbers are down in terms of scoring the ball, shooting the ball, and other advanced offensive metrics. I’d be willing to attribute a lot of that to injuries, playing in a brand-new system, and the lack of floor spacing on the team especially without Paolo or Franz. To his credit, he is averaging a career-high 1.6 steals, but I digress.
A lot of Orlando’s struggles this season on the offensive end can be attributed to injuries, and that doesn’t fall onto just one player. We praise the Magic for winning games when they’re depleted with injuries and their ‘next man up’ mentality, and rightfully so.
To that point, we also need to understand players are asked to play a significantly larger role and not stylistically play ‘their game’ when they’re asked to do more. Some players can take on a larger role when they’re thrust into those positions and thrive as we saw with Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs.
We all know and understand at the very end of the day KCP is a role player, and he’s a damn great one. Caldwell-Pope like many of the Magic players has not been nearly as ‘effective’ or ‘consistent’ as you’d like with the onslaught of injuries that Orlando has had to endure.
How We Should Evaluate KCP
I’m certain that when Orlando is healthy and all three of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs are back on the floor, it is going to do wonders for KCP in terms of the floor spacing and not having to pick up as much slack on the defensive side of the ball.
While I love the idea of bringing along a Simons, Fox, or Sexton to this team, it is rather unlikely to happen, and secondly, it shouldn’t come at the expense of KCP.
Think about the message that would be sent to not only your locker room but to other free agents in the future who may want to sign in Orlando. The veteran you signed this offseason to keep intact the defensive identity of this team, be a reliable three-point shooter, and instill a level of wisdom both on and off the floor into this team. You shipped him off less than a year into his deal while the entire team has been banged up? It’s absurd, right?
I do understand the concerns, I do understand the appeal of bringing on another guard who would bolster this roster both immediately and long-term, and I truly do understand the importance of all of it. All I’m saying is let’s at least get into the postseason healthy, that’s the big caveat, and then evaluate how not only KCP plays, but how this team performs and if they can advance further than they did last year.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been in a unique situation this season where he’s been asked to do more than be just a ‘fourth option’ role player, and I truly believe he will be an integral part of the success of this team moving forward for all the reasons stated above. KCP will shine and show his invaluable worth when this team is healthy and winning playoff games.