Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was criticized for his poor performance in the recently concluded Paris Olympics. Murray, expected to be the second-leading scorer behind Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, only averaged 6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 29 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from three-point land in Paris.
Team president Josh Kroenke is aware of this, and he pointed out injuries as the main reason why Jamal Murray failed to live up to the high expectations.
“When you’re going against the best in the world, whether it’s in the NBA playoffs or in the Olympics, you’re gonna get (opponents’) best shot. And if you’re not 100% and you know you want to be out there still, you’re gonna try to fight through it like Jamal is,” Kroenke said via Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
“But I know he wasn’t 100%. I know getting him back there is a big step toward seeing the Jamal, who was throwing up triple-doubles in the NBA Finals,” he added.
Canada was dubbed one of the favorites to win the quadrennial meet, but they ran into a France squad led by Victor Wembanyama and got bounced in the quarterfinals.
Denver Nuggets biding their time on signing Jamal Murray to a new extension
Jamal Murray is entering the final year of his five-year, $158.3 million contract with the Denver Nuggets, but he has yet to sign a new extension, putting his future with the team in doubt.
Josh Kroenke said he will take his time before deciding about Murray since they’ve been busy improving their roster ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Murray is eligible for up to a four-year, $208.5 million max extension. In 2023-24, the 27-year-old guard averaged 21.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.5 assists on 48.1 percent shooting from the field and 42.5 percent from three-point land in 59 regular season games.
