With the Washington Wizards expected to match Otto Porter Jr.’s max offer, will the Brooklyn Nets sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in restricted free agency?
With the bulk of the major unrestricted free agency signings in the books, the restricted free agency market is starting to shake itself out in the NBA. Bigger names like Otto Porter Jr. and surprising names like Tim Hardaway Jr. have signed massive offer sheets to leave their respective team. One player that hasn’t received an offer yet if Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Detroit Pistons.
Porter is clearly the biggest restricted free agent of his class. He has already garnered a maximum offer from the Brooklyn Nets, though his Washington Wizards have made it abundantly clear that they will match any offer he can get.
That being said, Porter’s max has allowed another restricted free agent formerly of the Wizards, Bojan Bogdanovic, to leave for the Indiana Pacers on a two-year, $21 million deal. This means Washington will absolutely be bringing back Porter on the max, which could allow the Nets to lure Caldwell-Pope away from Detroit.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Nets have interest in Caldwell-Pope as a restricted free agent. With the Pistons drafting shooting guard Luke Kennard in the lottery and trading for wing Avery Bradley from the Boston Celtics, Caldwell-Pope’s time in Motown looks to be done.
Washington has now renounced Bojan Bogdanovic, freeing him to join Pacers on the two-year, $21M deal, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2017
Message is clear to Brooklyn now: Washington's matching Porter's $106M offer sheet, and Nets soon back on market with space to pursue KCP. https://t.co/nqYZshmsTp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2017
Caldwell-Pope would be an excellent fit for the Nets, as head coach Kenny Atkinson would let the shooter shoot playing next to point guard D’Angelo Russell. It wouldn’t be shocking if Brooklyn threw a max offer at Caldwell-Pope knowing that Porter is going back to Washington.
That being said, Caldwell-Pope won’t be coming cheap and Brooklyn could have some competition. Keep in mind that Hardaway signed a four-year, $71 million offer sheet with the New York Knicks. The Atlanta Hawks still need a two-guard and Caldwell-Pope is a former SEC standout with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Next: NBA Free Agency Tracker 2017
The Hawks and the Nets feel like good bets to land Caldwell-Pope. However, it would be Brooklyn that is more likely to pull the trigger on a max offer over Atlanta. The Hawks have a new general manager in place in Travis Schlenk and he’s rebuilding his roster with short-term, team-friendly contracts. Brooklyn, on the other hand, is ready to get better yesterday.
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