After a couple months of waiting, wondering, and hoping, the Denver Nuggets and Jamal Murray appear to have finally agreed to a contract.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Murray will sign a four-year, $208 million maximum extension.
Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray has agreed on a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike George tell ESPN. The deal — guaranteeing Murray $244M over next five seasons — secures a franchise cornerstone to the Western contender. pic.twitter.com/XDfBM4oX1Z
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 7, 2024
It appears that the contract is fully guaranteed. Murray is owed $36 million in the final year of his rookie max contract. Add in the next four years and $208 million, and that’s where the $244 million guaranteed comes from.
The guaranteed money was a sticking point in negotiations between Murray and the Nuggets over the last couple months. General Manager Calvin Booth expressed the team’s desire to keep Murray around long term though, and this was always the most likely outcome.
It’s good to see both sides come to an agreement. The 2023-24 season didn’t go the way either side wanted, and money almost always makes things more complicated. Rather than go into the 2024-25 season without a long term contract, perhaps some external pressure will be relieved on what is expected to be a challenging season.
As for the basketball, Murray is 27 years old and is expected to fully enter his prime years in this contract. The Nuggets are hoping a fully healthy Murray enters this season after copious nagging injuries during 2023-24. When Murray was on the floor in the regular season, he was solid, putting up 21.2 points and 6.5 assists while maintaining a 58.6 True Shooting %.
Unfortunately, Murray only played 59 games, and he was clearly hampered in the playoffs physically amidst the worse playoff performance of his career. There were certainly positive moments, like two game-winning shots in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Nuggets have come to expect more from an all-time playoff performer.
How Murray’s contract extension ages will likely come down to three factors:
- Are the Nuggets winning championships? Locking up Murray and Nikola Jokic for the next few years means the Nuggets will be graded on a curve. Simply getting to the playoffs isn’t good enough. Performing well in pressure moments is what matters most, and it happens to be what Murray’s best at. No matter what else happens, if the Nuggets win another championship or two that Murray contributes to, this deal will be a good one.
- Can Murray be an All-Star? He was close in 2021 but hasn’t been healthy/productive enough in the regular season to earn a spot. With over $50 million committed to Murray per season with this extension, the Nuggets are hoping Murray can make that consistent All-Star leap, taking his elite playoff production to the regular season.
- Can Murray stay healthy? Removing the 2021-22 season that Murray missed due to a torn ACL, the Nuggets star point guard has still only averaged 57.8 games played per season over his last four years. That health and durability is so important, not just for Murray, but for the rest of the roster. If Murray can consistently exceed 65 games played during his contract extension, that will help the Nuggets in the long term.
Time will tell whether this deal is a good one. The last time the Nuggets gave Murray the maximum amount of money possible, it ended up working out pretty well with a championship and some all-time playoff performances. Perhaps Nuggets fans are in for something similar over the next five years.
