Denver Nuggets: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Phil Watson
Extending Jamal Murray
It didn’t take long for Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets to agree to terms on a rookie-scale extension.
On June 30, the first day Murray was eligible as a 2016 first-round pick to discuss an extension with the Nuggets, the sides agreed to a five-year, $169.65 million max deal that will keep Murray in Denver through the 2024-25 season.
That continues the pattern the Nuggets have had with this young core. Nikola Jokic got a max deal after hitting free agency last summer and now Murray, who officially signed the deal on Wednesday, has gotten his bag.
Murray, the seventh overall pick in 2016 by Denver, became a more consistent player in 2018-19, scoring in double-figures in all but eight games last season after doing hitting just single-digits in 18 games the previous season.
His numbers ramped up last season to 18.2 points, 4.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 32.6 minutes per game on 43.7 percent shooting overall and a 36.7 percent mark on 5.5 3-point tries a night.
Per 36-minutes, Murray’s numbers were up by more than a point with a hike of 1.5 assists, while his shooting numbers did dip as his attempts increased from 14.9 to 17.3 per-36.
Murray had shot 45.1 percent overall and 37.8 percent from deep in 2017-18.
Until his Game 7 flop against the Portland Trail Blazers, Murray had a very solid playoff run for the Nuggets and still averaged 21.3 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 36.3 minutes per game, shooting 42.5 percent overall and 33.7 percent on 5.9 long-range attempts a game.
Murray may be on the cusp of breaking into the top tier of Western Conference guards and a max deal was the price of doing business to keep the young Canadian in the Mile High City for the next six years.
Was it an over-pay? Perhaps, but Murray is still only 22 years old and growing into his game. It may turn out that the Nuggets paid the price they had to in order to retain an emerging star.