Denver Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr.’s extension and the price of doing business

Michael Porter Jr. has signed a rookie maximum extension with the Denver Nuggets, the team that took a risk in drafting him 14th overall in the 2018 NBA draft. It comes after months of negotiating and it’s the third max contract on the Nuggets roster.

The max extension to Michael Porter Jr. was a no-brainer. He’s an elite wing scorer in this league and at only 23 years of age, the sky is the limit for how much better he can get.

In his third season, his second on the court after missing his rookie season with a back injury, Porter Jr. averaged 19 points a night while shooting 45 percent from behind the arc.

He was thrust into a secondary role when Jamal Murray tore his ACL in mid-April and only got better. In 23 games without Murray, MPJ averaged 22.8 points while shooting 55 percent from the floor and 45 percent on 7.6 3-point attempts.

While still a substantial sample size, Michael Porter Jr. will have plenty of opportunities to prove himself in the upcoming season as Jamal sits for most, if not all, of next season. Being a second option on an NBA team is something, but being a second option behind Nikola Jokic, one of the best passing big men in NBA history is something else.

There’s every reason to believe that the former Missouri wing could take another leap on top of his late-season numbers in 2020-21 and score even more.

What does another max extension mean for the Denver Nuggets?

The Denver Nuggets are now the fourth team in the entire league to boast three max contracts on their roster. Outside of Colorado, the other teams are the LA Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, and Golden State Warriors.

These huge salaries on their cap sheet (paid to Jokic, Murray, and now MPJ) come with expectations, title expectations. Anything less than a title next season for one of the other three teams is considered a failure.

Denver gets a pass since Jamal likely isn’t playing basketball until next season, but the pressure will soon be on.

I’m not writing this to scare any Nuggets fans away, in fact, Tim Connelly has been able to secure the youngest trio of max players in the league. Jokic is 26-years-old, Murray is 24, and Michael Porter Jr. is 23. The Nuggets will have these three under contract for the foreseeable future and when all fully healthy, will be competing for an NBA title.

It’s simply the price of doing business for Connelly, a lead decision maker in the front office who has drafted excellently. He drafted his three stars with the 41st, 14th, and seventh picks and was able to foster an environment that saw them grow.

On top of hitting the top-end talent, Connelly has drafted solid role players who are consistent contributors like Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, Gary Harris, Jusuf Nurkic, and R.J. Hampton to name a few. Not all of them are still on the roster but they were all moved for positive value.

This iteration of the Denver Nuggets is the blueprint for how small market teams should build their roster. There’s no free agent signing of LeBron James or Kevin Durant, there are smart moves on the fringes and prioritizing the draft.

From here, it’ll be interesting to see if a small market that slowly built the roster the “right” way can win the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The first for the Denver Nuggets.