The 2024 season changed the Magic’s standing in the NBA. After making the playoffs and pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games, the young team quickly became a rumored destination for some of the biggest free agents available. The best veteran players on the market in the 2024 offseason were Paul George, Klay Thompson, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The Magic signed the latter, adding a championship veteran who seemed like a seamless fit for what the team needed. Caldwell-Pope is a strong defender, bringing exactly what the Magic want from all their players on that end of the floor, and can knock down threes.
Orlando and Caldwell-Pope seemed like a match made in heaven, and the signing received plenty of positive reactions. The fact that the Magic were able to sign Caldwell-Pope in the first place was huge. Orlando is not generally considered a destination for the biggest free agents.
However, months later, the signing does not look as great anymore. Caldwell-Pope has largely brought the defense the Magic were hoping to see but could not provide the kind of shooting the team needs.
Caldwell-Pope is currently shooting only 32.4 percent from three. He has only shot a worse percentage in his rookie season in 2013-14. In March, Caldwell-Pope shot 45.1 percent on 3.6 attempts from three, looking more like himself. The problem is that he has not been able to provide that kind of shooting consistently. For most of the season, he has struggled to punish teams from three.
That has been a problem for the Magic and will continue to be an issue if Caldwell-Pope cannot keep up his 3-point shooting. The Magic gave him a significant deal—money that would be wasted if Caldwell-Pope never looks like the 3-point shooter he was in LA and Denver.
The Magic’s 2024 offseason was not as great as it seemed
In the moment, signing Caldwell-Pope seemed like the perfect decision for the Magic. It allowed the Magic to add a 3-and-D championship veteran to the roster while not changing the way the team played and allowing Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero to remain the focal points of the offense. Caldwell-Pope’s struggles from three and the Magic’s offensive issues have changed the narrative.
On a recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast, Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon discussed the worst 2024 offseason moves now that the season is almost over. The Magic signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made the honorable mentions.
“I think part of that one was just the expectation,” Simon said. “I would guess if you went and like looked at 2024 NBA free agency grades, that one got so many As and A-pluses…This is one of those examples, Sam, where I think the process was right for Orlando. I think the process was correct, the result just hasn’t been there.”
Vecenie objected, “I wonder if their process should have been getting more offensive firepower.”
Both are valid points. The Magic did not feel ready to make big changes to the roster and the way they play yet in the 2024 offseason, so signing Caldwell-Pope instead of chasing a star seemed like the right move. Expectations for the addition were huge, which only made it hurt more for Magic fans when it did not pan out as hoped.
Now, after a season filled with injuries and offensive struggles from pretty much everyone on the roster, including the Magic’s stars, it seems that the Magic would have been better off adding another offensive creator to the roster. If they had, they might not have to battle their way through the Play-In Tournament.
It does not help anyone to dwell on what-ifs, though. The only thing the Magic can do now is to finish the season the best way possible and improve the roster in the offseason. Having someone else who will draw opponents’ attention from behind the arc may be just what Caldwell-Pope needs to get better looks and knock down more threes.