{"id":95294,"date":"2024-09-12T17:52:22","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T21:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=95294"},"modified":"2024-09-12T17:52:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T21:52:22","slug":"denver-nuggets-state-of-roster-after-jamal-murrays-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/12\/denver-nuggets-state-of-roster-after-jamal-murrays-extension\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets State of Roster After Jamal Murray’s Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the 2024-2025 regular season approaches, the Denver Nuggets find themselves in an enviable position. Coming off their first-ever NBA championship in 2023 and securing a strong but disappointing playoff performance in 2024, they have laid a solid foundation for future success. The recent decision to lock down star guard Jamal Murray<\/a> with a four-year, $208.5 million contract extension<\/a> will only add to the excitement and optimism surrounding the future of this franchise.<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets State of Roster After Jamal Murray’s Extension<\/h2>\n

Murray\u2019s extension only solidifies the Nuggets\u2019 core for the foreseeable future. The group includes three-time MVP and Finals MVP Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a>, versatile forward Aaron Gordon<\/a>, star forward Michael Porter<\/a> Jr, and up-and-coming guard Christian Braun<\/a>. As the Nuggets enter the 2024-2025 season, the question is no longer whether they can compete, but how well-positioned they are to become NBA champions once again. Although, it may not be easy with the severe consequences of the Collective Bargaining Agreement<\/a>. Furthermore, with young highly competitive teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves on the horizon Denver\u2019s path to becoming a true dynasty will become even more challenging.<\/p>\n

Why Murray’s Extension a No-Brainer<\/h3>\n

Jamal Murray\u2019s extension<\/a> was an inevitable move for the Nuggets<\/a>, who recognize his value not only as a scorer but as a leader and clutch performer. Since being drafted seventh overall in 2016, Murray has been a key player for Denver. However, it was during the 2023 championship run that he truly established himself as one of the NBA\u2019s premier guards. Murray averaged 26.1 points, 7.1 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in the 2023 playoffs, consistently delivering when the stakes were highest. However, recent play in the 2024 NBA playoffs and the Paris Olympics indicates that the star guard isn\u2019t at his best. Nuggets fans can only hope Murray is in his best shape when the season starts and more importantly the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Murray’s ability to perform in the clutch and form a lethal two-man game with Joki\u0107 makes him indispensable. His scoring versatility\u2014whether pulling up from deep, attacking the rim, or creating his own shot\u2014adds layers to Denver\u2019s offense. Which is one of the most dynamic in the league. Murray\u2019s leadership and chemistry with Joki\u0107 are foundational to Denver’s success, and his contract extension ensures that the Nuggets will retain their elite backcourt for the foreseeable future. However, giving this amount of money to Murray could affect Denver\u2019s future roster decisions as Aaron Gordon is up for a contract extension next year. Christian Braun and Peyton Watson<\/a> are likely due for rookie scale extensions soon as well.<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets Underrated Acquisition<\/h3>\n

One underrated acquisition Denver made is acquiring undrafted rookie and Auburn\u2019s Jaylin Williams<\/a> on an Exhibit 10 deal. Williams has a solid chance to get promoted to a two-way contract or standard deal. Williams is the winningest<\/a> player in Auburn\u2019s basketball history. Notably, Williams spent five seasons with the Tigers and was a part of 114 wins, averaging 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in his 141 games. Denver considered the Auburn wing at pick 56 if they did not trade pick 28 and pick 56 to Phoenix in exchange for pick 22 to select DaRon Holmes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, it\u2019s mentionable that Denver received calls from Milwaukee and Oklahoma City for pick 28<\/a>. Milwaukee offered pick 23 and one second-rounder and Oklahoma City offered four rounders. Although Denver selected Phoenix as their trade partner to obtain pick 22 likely because they saw New York and Minnesota as threats to select Holmes if they did not move up.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In conclusion, Denver is in a good position. They have pretty much their core secured although ensuring Aaron Gordon will stay a Nugget next year is crucial. If they ever need some financial relief they have assets like Zeke Nnaji<\/a> and young players although it\u2019s been indicated that Nnaji hasn\u2019t garnered any trade interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the 2024-2025 regular season approaches, the Denver Nuggets find themselves in an enviable position. Coming off their first-ever NBA championship in 2023 and securing a strong but disappointing playoff performance in 2024, they have laid a solid foundation for future success. The recent decision to lock down star guard Jamal Murray with a four-year, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5279,"featured_media":95321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1608,62],"tags":[109,72],"class_list":["post-95294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nuggets","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-jamal-murray","tag-nikola-jokic"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5279"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}