Report: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Told Nuggets FO They'd Win NBA Title After His Trade

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope accurately forecast the Denver Nuggets' 2023 championship shortly after his trade to the team last summer, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe.

"When Caldwell-Pope met one front office executive for the first time, he boldly but calmly declared the team would win the title this season, sources say," Lowe reported Tuesday.

The 30-year-old wing understood what it took to earn a title after he helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA Finals. That postseason also gave him a first-hand glimpse of the Nuggets' potential since Los Angeles played Denver in the conference finals.

It's not as if the franchise's success came from out of nowhere.

Nikola Jokić was coming off his second straight MVP. More importantly, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. were healthy after the former missed the entire 2021-22 campaign and the latter made just nine appearances. The additions of Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown provided some necessary depth.

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey listed the Nuggets at No. 4 in his power rankings ahead of the regular season and wrote they "should be in the title contenders tier" as long as their key players remained healthy.

Still, a broad level of skepticism about a team's credentials often lingers until it finally gets over the top. Neither the Toronto Raptors nor the Milwaukee Bucks were the betting favorites in the seasons when they lifted the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.

In the case of the Nuggets, nobody will be discounting their chances anymore.