After failing to defend their NBA championship and falling in the second round of the playoffs last season, the Denver Nuggets are looking to regain their status as a truly elite team.
They lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who had been their starting shooting guard, in free agency this summer, and they added the mercurial Russell Westbrook in an effort to beef up what was a very weak bench.
On Monday, insider Shams Charania reported that the Nuggets have locked up one of their key players by getting forward Aaron Gordon to agree to a four-year, $133 million contract extension.
Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon has agreed to a four-year, $133 million contract extension with the franchise, with a player option in 2028-29 and a trade kicker, Klutch Sports’ Calvin Andrews and Rich Paul, and Elise Gordon told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/MZWDnt1kCC
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 22, 2024
Gordon has been very important to the Nuggets’ success ever since he arrived in a midseason trade during the 2020-21 campaign.
At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, he provides them with plenty of muscle at the power forward position, and while he’s not a great 3-point shooter, he’s a strong finisher at the rim and a solid defender.
Over the years, the Nuggets have seemingly been a model of how to build a winning team, as they drafted their two main stars, Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, and they became world champions without turning to the free agent market for a big star or building a superteam.
But the realities of the NBA’s new ultra-restrictive salary cap are setting in, and Denver has become a casualty.
While they should make the playoffs and be very competitive there, virtually no one outside of Colorado is picking them to reach the NBA Finals, let alone win it all.
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Nuggets Are Reportedly Unwilling To Offer Max Contract To Key Veteran
