Nuggets, still give.
According to the agent, Jamal Murray has agreed to sign a four-year, 208 million maximum salary extension with the Nuggets, with the new contract effective for the 2025-26 season and expiring in 2029, with a four-year salary of 46.4 million, 50.1 million, 53.8 million, and 57.5 million respectively.
Murray's contract renewal with the Nuggets can be said to have dragged a summer, and there were rumors at the end of the playoffs that the Nuggets wanted to renew Murray's contract with a maximum salary, but they were unwilling to give full protection, so the two sides have been deadlocked, and then after the Olympics, I thought that Murray would give in, but from the final result, the Nuggets chose to compromise.
Let's talk about the conclusion first, we still have the previous view: the food is tasteless, and it is a pity to discard it.
Murray is a player, the strength must be there, he has broken out many times in the playoffs, as early as before the Nuggets won the championship, he and Mitchell scored high points in the park, a round of the series, each of which won two 50+ games, of which Murray also handed over a game of 0 free throws and 50 points, which is also the only game in the history of the playoffs with 0 free throws 50+.
In the 2023 playoffs, Murray, who returned from a major injury, played a career highlight, averaging 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in 20 games, with a three-point shooting rate of 47.3%/39.6%/92.6% and a true shooting rate of 58.6%, helping the Nuggets win the first championship in team history.
It is no exaggeration to say that Murray in this year's playoffs is really strong, especially against the Lakers in the Western Conference, 4 games, 3 games of 30+, averaging 32.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, with a shooting rate of 53%/41%/95%.
Among them, in the Western Conference G2, Murray was 11 of 24 and 6 of 14 three-pointers, scoring 37 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals, and he scored 23 points in a single quarter in the fourth quarter and led the team to complete the reversal.
Speaking after the game, Murray said: "I don't feel like I'm getting the respect I deserve, I'm better than most of the players in the league, but every time I look at the player rankings, I think, oh my god this is crazy, maybe I've been gone for too long, but if we win a championship, everything will change." ”
Murray is right, in addition to helping the Nuggets win the championship, the outside world has given him more recognition, but at the same time, expectations are getting higher and higher, many people are waiting for him to be selected for the All-Star and All-Star team, but unfortunately, from last season, Murray did not respond to these expectations.
In the regular season last season, Murray returned to a normal level, only played a total of 59 games, scored 21.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists, and the data was not bad, but the West would definitely not be able to enter the All-Star because of the lack of appearances, and he could not even qualify for the best team selection.
What's worse is the playoffs, I thought that Murray had his own playoff explosive attributes, but last year was really disappointing.
Playing the Lakers, the two stunners are impressive, and the average of 23.6 points per game in the series is not low, but his shooting rate is only 40%, the three-point shooting rate is 29.4% (42.5% in the regular season), and the true shooting rate is 46.8%.
Playing the Timberwolves, Murray was completely blown up by Edwards, seven big games, only scored 35 points in G7 to save his respect, and none of the remaining six games scored 25+, averaging 18.4 points per game in the series, with a true shooting rate of 48.0%.
As a comparison, Edwards in this round of games: averaged 27.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, with a true shooting rate of 60.9%, and the two showed a gap in grade on both offensive and defensive ends.
In addition to his inconsistent playoff performance, Murray also played a mess in the Olympics this summer, averaging only 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 4 games, shooting 29% from the field and 14.3% from three-point range.
Last year's Canada men's basketball team without him finished third in the World Cup, but this year's Canada men's basketball team without him did not even reach the final four - of course, this also has something to do with France's home whistle, but this is not an excuse for Murray's personal inadequacy.
As we said, with the playoffs and Olympic performance as the basis, I thought that Murray would give in when the contract was renewed, but I didn't expect that it was the Nuggets who finally compromised, and we can only say that the Nuggets really gave enough respect.
You know, Murray's last contract, that is, the five-year $170 million signed in 2019, was also the top salary, at that time, Murray had not experienced the explosion of the park, and he was not famous at all, with an average of only 18.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and a true shooting rate of 53.8%, which was completely at the top salary level, but despite this, the Nuggets still sent him a contract extension as soon as possible.
In the past 8 years of his career, Murray has not been an All-Star once, but after signing a new contract, his guaranteed total salary has reached 380 million, and he has surpassed Tobias Harris (303 million) to become the most expensive player in history who has never been selected as an All-Star - once again, the Nuggets have given enough respect.
For small-ball city teams, the biggest pain point is that they can't bring in big-name stars, and they can only retain the core team as much as possible, so Murray can sign the maximum salary, not only because the playoffs broke out, but also because the Nuggets have to do it, otherwise as soon as Murray leaves, Jokic will have no helpers around.
As for Murray, whether it is the championship glory in 2023, or the 2024 playoffs and the Olympic aberration, the past has passed, and he is currently 27 years old, still at his peak, I hope he can bring some different things in the new season, such as entering an All-Star, "due respect", you have to rely on yourself to fight for it.