Is Jamal Murray Worth his new Extension?

This past week it was reported by ESPN that Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets received a max extension worth $208 million over 4 years. This move locks down the Nuggets franchise point guard for the forseeable future, but is Murray worth $52 million a year?

Top 3 Highest Paid Point Guards

When this extension kicks in during next season, Murray will become the 3rd highest paid point guard in the league. He will only be behind Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard's base salary and will be just above Luka Doncic and Trae Young. Looking at those players, Murray probably falls a bit short when comparing accolades/accomplishments to most of them, except for maybe Young. However, looking farther down the list, he is the only point guard in the top 16 (by salary) that has not ever been selected as an all star. Now, he is in a very competitive conference at that position so it probably isn't worth putting to much weight on that. But looking at stat leaders, this past season he was not ranked in the top 5 for any of the major categories at his position. That being said, he is in the 10th in points and 9th in assists, but is that enough to justify being the 3rd highest paid point guard in the league?

Denver Solidifies the Core of its Roster

With this move, Denver locks down its core 3 players of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. for the next several years. They will commit $150 million to these 3 the year when the extension starts, a move that will most certainly put them over into the first apron atleast. It's a move that commits the team to contend for a finals now, and why wouldn't they? They won a finals less than 2 years ago and Jokic is in his prime. Solidifying the support around him is a good move. The only concen I see right now is consistency. Both Murray and Porter Jr. have missed a chunk of time over the last 5 years, but assuming they stay healthy (as I and all NBA fans do) its a good move regardless of the price.

So is Murray worth the Money?

In the end the anwer is probably. As mentioned before, Denver has locked down its core and they know who they are going to be putting on the floor for the next several years. Yes Murray has had some recent lapses in performance in the playoffs/big games, but he is still a great running mate for Jokic and performs at a borderline all star level. As for the cost itself, this extension will seem like alot until the next one. Doncic has another contract coming and if you think he will not be making $50 million a year atleast you're wrong. In the end, good for Murray and good for the Nuggets, he gets paid and the team keeps their point guard.