After spending the second half of the season with the Denver Nuggets, Aaron Gordon has inked a four year extension to stay in the Mile High City.
The extension is worth $92 million, keeping the 26-year-old forward with the Nuggets for the foreseeable future. $88 million of the contract is base salary while $4million is incentives. It also includes a player option for the fourth and final year of the contract, the 2025-26 season.
Gordon arrived in Denver via trade at the deadline in March. The trade sent him and Gary Clark to the Nuggets while the Orlando Magic, who drafted Gordon with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, received Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton, and a protected 2025 first round pick.
In 25 regular season games with Denver, Gordon averaged 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game. He upped those numbers in the playoffs, averaging 11.1 points and 5.7 rebounds during the 10-game stretch.
The signing of Gordon is vital to what the Nuggets are trying to build with their young core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. Between those three great offensive players, filling in the defensive gaps is necessary, which is where Gordon comes in.
During the eight games before Murray suffered a season-ending injury, Denver went 7-1 and looked like one of the best teams in the league. The Nuggets are obviously trying to just get back to that team once Murray returns from his injury later during the 2021-22 season.
Owners Willing to Enter Luxury Tax
The news of Gordon and Denver agreeing to an extension is big. But this also implies some bigger news.
With Gordon signing a big deal, Porter Jr. about to sign a rookie extension, Jokic set to sign the largest contract in league history next offseason, and Murray also on a max deal, the owners of the Nuggets are pretty clearly ok with team entering the luxury tax.
A lot of this still rests on the knee of Murray. But if he can come back close to what he was before the injury, this team can be one of the best in the league with tons of young offensive ability and the defense from Gordon.
Follow our twitter
Check out our shop
