NBA teams tell you what they believe by how they spend, and on whom they spend it. And by agreeing to terms with Jamal Murray on a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension, the Denver Nuggets are telling us they believe their best chance of continuing to compete for NBA championships lies with the Canadian point guard flanking Nikola Jokiu0107 through the balance of his prime.
They’re also telling us that they believe Murray’s rocky last few months, marked by a disappointing postseason and a disastrous turn at the Olympics, and his relative lack of individual accolades — he’s the only player set to make more than $50 million a season on average without an All-NBA or even an All-Star selection — don’t matter nearly as much as the eight years of chemistry he’s built with the three-time Most Valuable Player.