Why Aaron Gordon’s “optimism” is great for the Denver Nuggets

Aaron Gordon and the Denver Nuggets are apparently “optimistic” about reaching a contract extension as soon as the next few days.

The report, coming from Mike Singer, The Denver Post is great news for Denver Nuggets fans as it means the core of this team will be locked in for the foreseeable future (pending a Michael Porter Jr. extension) and the ownership group is committed to paying the luxury tax.

AG is eligible for a four-year, $88 million extension this offseason and one source tells Singer that an extension could be in the range of two-to-three years with an annual salary ranging from $20 million to $21 million a year.

He is currently entering the final season of a four-year, $80 million deal, which has declined to $16.4 million this season. If Gordon adds two or three seasons on top of that, he’d be with the Denver Nuggets through to at least the 2023-24 season.

I’ve written in the past that, with Jamal Murray’s ACL injury, the Nuggets should be prioritizing the 2022-23 season. Denver likely won’t be competing for a title without Jamal, we saw how that story goes in the Phoenix Suns series, the team just doesn’t have the firepower to compete.

One of the major issues with that timeline is the contracts of MPJ and AG. Instead of competing next season with both under contract, the team ran the risk of Murray returning from his injury and coming back without one or both of the forwards on the roster.

Why Denver Nuggets fans should be happy with a possible Aaron Gordon extension: Ownership is willing to pay

Tim Connelly told reporters in his postseason press conference that there are no financial constraints when building this team, alluding to the luxury tax that Denver hasn’t paid in Kroenke’s entire tenure:

"“We have no financial restraints in terms of trying to further develop a championship-level roster.”"

We now know that to be true. Or at least not until there’s a signature on the dotted line, but it’s looking promising.

At around $20 million per season for Gordon, the Nuggets could have more than $110 million committed to Nikola Jokic, Murray, Porter Jr., and Gordon for the 22-23 season.

That’s before adding the role players to that tally. Adding in Monte Morris, JaMychal Green, Jeff Green, and a possible Facundo Campazzo extension past next season, this team is getting pricey, but with the price, comes championship aspirations.

With an MVP on its roster, a scoring guard who averaged nearly 50 points in a couple of playoff series, a defensive forward, explosive 23-year-old scorer, and plenty of depth, this is the core for the Denver Nuggets moving forward.

The front office hasn’t skipped steps at all and soon, they’re about to see the fruits of their labor.