3 most overpaid Nuggets players on next season's roster
By Ben Handler
2. Zeke Nnaji - 4 years, $32 million
This deal just looks like an albatross and the reason Calvin Booth was so anxious to hand it out is beyond me. Nnaji showed some promise as a young big man, but the team was aggressive with this extension that just kicked in.
Nnaji had a disappointing season last year and fell completely out of the Denver rotation. That’s not the end of the world if the team hadn’t extended him or he was on a minimum contract. But that’s not the case. This deal looked horrible before it even started and it’s to the point he has negative trade value around the league.
To make matters worse, the final year of Nnaji’s deal is a player option. The Nuggets should be (and hopefully have been) looking to shop Zeke and find any way to upgrade his roster spot, but for his price, it won’t be easy.
There was no reason for Booth and the Nuggets to hand out this deal when they did, but they bet on Zeke’s potential and lost. If not for this deal, there’s a good chance the Nuggets would still have KCP and a few more draft picks.
