Nuggets GM gives horrifying, eye-opening statement on Caldwell-Pope free agency

It was all gravy on Wednesday night for the Nuggets as the team was able to swing a deal to land the apple of their eye, big man DaRon Holmes II out of Dayton. The team had been flirting - to a point that bordered on harassment - with Holmes for months and many around the league had speculated that Denver had even offered him a draft promise.

Well, they had to give up some picks to move up, but in the end, they got their guy and it was all smiles. The vibes were good and Nuggets fans were starting to imagine a versatile, athletic backup big man to plug the minutes when either Aaron Gordon or Nikola Jokic rests.

Nuggets GM Calvin Booth offered a harsh dose of reality

But the good times were somewhat short-lived as Nuggets GM Calvin Booth took to the microphone to deliver his post-draft press conference to the media. Booth had plenty of glowing comments about Holmes that made it easy to see why the team held him in such high regard and made fans excited about how they plan to use him.

Then, the Nuggets head executive was asked about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and his looming free agency; that’s when things got bleak. Booth was blunt and honest, perhaps even spilling the team’s hand a bit.

""The nature of free agency is, he's unrestricted. 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. 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. It would be nice if he's back. They have a lot of continuity together. But I think in all the stuff I've looked at, with lineup stuff and everything, Christian Braun is one of the best net-rating guys in the league -- as is KCP. So I think if he has to step into the starting lineup, like probably projected I think, you know, we’ll be ok if KCP doesn’t return.""

- Calvin Booth

Nuggets preparing for KCP to leave in free agency

These are some pretty jarring comments to hear from the team’s GM as he seems to be all but coming out and saying that Caldwell-Pope won’t be back next season. While the confidence from Booth is appreciated, it’s somewhat disheartening that the team seems willing to let KCP walk and/or unwilling to match offers for him in free agency.

Maybe it will work out and they’ll be able to replace him with young players like Braun, but replacing a two-time champion with two-way skills is not going to be easy. All hope isn’t lost quite yet, but now Caldwell-Pope has officially opted out of his contract and it sounds like the front office is preparing for life without him.