Kentavious-Caldwell Pope paused for a moment when asked Saturday if it was difficult for him to leave the Nuggets and join the Magic in NBA free agency.
After a couple of seconds of silence and reflection, the 11-year veteran admitted it took him “awhile” to ultimately decide but the choice was clear when negotiations were underway with Orlando.
“There was no sense in me waiting to see if [Denver] was going to come back with an offer, but my first priority is my family and make sure we’re good at any point,” the 6-5 guard said inside the AdventHealth Training Center shortly after he signed a 3-year, $66 million contract with the Magic. “Being able to be a part of this organization, they wanted me just as much as I wanted to be on this squad as well.
“That made it much easier to sign here, too.”
That squad — beyond Caldwell-Pope and No. 18 pick Tristan da Silva, who signed his rookie-scale contract Saturday — looks mostly the same from last season when the Magic reached the playoffs for the first time in four years as the No. 5 seed in the East.
Throughout the afternoon, Orlando officially re-signed centers Moe Wagner and Goga Bitadze and veteran guard Gary Harris to new deals. The second year of Wagner’s 2-year, $22 million deal and Harris’ 2-year, $15 million contract includes a club option for 2025-26, league sources told the Sentinel.
The Magic also officially signed forward Franz Wagner to his maximum rookie extension with the franchise that could be worth as much as $269 million over five years when it begins with the 2025-26 season. In addition, Orlando announced it agreed to renegotiate and extend the contract of forward Jonathan Isaac.
The team on Friday night formally shared it had re-signed guard Trevelin Queen to a new two-way deal as well.
Magic lock down Franz Wagner for long-term with max rookie extension
These moves leave the Magic with one standard contract spot open and a pair of two-way deals to fill out the rest of its roster.
The goal for Caldwell-Pope, whose nickname is KCP, is to jell with the team and help Orlando accomplish its goal of returning to and advancing past the first round of the playoffs next season.
“I just wanted to come in and fit right into this organization and just do what I do,” he said.
What Caldwell-Pope does well is defend at a high level and shoot the ball from beyond the arc in an efficient manner. He made at least 120 3-pointers in each of the last four seasons and earned significant consideration for the league’s All-Defensive team.
Magic president of operations Jeff Weltman believe the two-time champion checks “a lot” of boxes for the Magic.
“He really strengthens our DNA,” Weltman said. “We’re trying to build a team of [a] defense-first mentality, of sacrifice and togetherness, of guys who make one another better and obviously KCP, also, is a high-level shooter.
“We’re trying to set this thing where we can improve our team now but also set ourselves up for success going forward.”
By returning majority of the same squad from a season ago and adding Caldwell-Pope to the mix, along with da Silva, Orlando leans in once again to its roster continuity that Weltman and coach Jamahl Mosley pointed to as a contributing factor to the team’s success.
The Magic won 47 games for the first time since 2011.
“Continuity is only valuable if your team is winning,” Weltman said. “There’s no sense in continuously bringing back the same guys if it’s not working. We do feel like we’ve landed on a good group of players who fit on the court [and] off the court.
“We feel like KCP is the ultimate fit-in and figure-it-out type of player,” he added. “That matters to us.”
Caldwell-Pope has already connected on social media with a number of current Magic players and is looking forward to the opportunity of developing those relationship further on the court.
“They’re just as much as excited as I am and we’re just ready to get out there,” Caldwell-Pope said of his new teammates.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
