Crazy rumor has the Nuggets considering a free agency pickup this summer

Offseason history in Denver was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and whether the Nuggets will be able to keep their veteran in the starting lineup. Not all hope is lost yet, but there seems to be more and more of it probably until the day KCP leaves to make a big deal in free agency.

Thursday Caldwell-Pope has officially opted out of his contractmaking him an unrestricted free agent, and reports have since indicated he’ll sign with a new team — the Magic and Sixers are the favorites. The Nuggets still have his Bird Rights and could match any offer, but it sounds like Calvin Booth and the Nuggets aren’t going to get into a bidding war.

Caldwell-Pope leaving town would be a tough blow for the Nuggets, but it looks like the team is already starting to change. One fascinating rumor came in an article by Sam Amick and Joe Vardon The Athletic reported that the Nuggets may be interested in acquiring Klay Thompson. as a replacement for KCP.

A future Hall of Famer, Thompson won four titles with the Warriors, the only team he ever played for. But the sides appear to be far apart in contract extension talks, with Klay likely to leave as a free agent this summer. Regular teams with budget space have been mentioned as potential candidates, like the Sixers and Magic, but the Nuggets joining the fray are a very intriguing new wrinkle.

This rumor is especially crazy because even if KCP leaves, the Nuggets have no cap space. They could offer Thompson a veteran’s minimum contract or a mid-level taxpayer exception, but that’s it. This deal is worth just over $5 million, which would be a huge pay cut for Klay, and an amount he could certainly beat on the open market — probably quite a bit.

There are other, more complex scenarios where the Nuggets could sell more salary to get under the luxury tax line and offer Thompson the full mid-level exception, but even that would be well below Klay’s next expected contract. If the Nuggets spent that much money, they could work out a sign-and-trade deal for Thompson, but that would require the Warriors to play, and helping another contender in the West seems unlikely.

So, barring something completely unexpected (certainly not impossible), it seems like Thompson is only coming to Denver if he’s willing to take a huge pay cut to earn another ring with the Nuggets. It wouldn’t be an unprecedented move, but it would indicate that things have gotten very bad between Thompson and the Warriors, and he’s basically looking to secure that with a conference rival.

Even at his advanced age, signing Thompson to such a small contract would be an incredible boon for the Nuggets. He would instantly become the team’s top scorer and provide a new world of spacing and gravity around Jokic and Murray. But for now, I remain extremely skeptical that this move is even close to happening.