"He doesn't look healthy or explosive" - ESPN insider advises against Jamal Murray extension after Nuggets star's dismal Olympic campaign
Jamal Murray struggled mightily as Team Canada fell short of expectations at the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the star point guard's underwhelming summer should give the Denver Nuggets reason for pause ahead of his contract extension negotiations.
Canada entered the Olympics poised to secure its second medal in the men's basketball tournament, with its first (silver) coming at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. However, after going 3-0 in group play, the Canadians were upset 82-73 by France in Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup, failing to medal.
Superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carried Canada throughout its Olympic run, averaging a team-best 21.0 points per game on 54.0% shooting over four games. However, Murray's play was a constant dark spot.
The 2023 NBA champion averaged just 6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, shooting 29.0% and 14.3% from 3 across four outings. During Canada's must-win contest against France, he mustered only seven points on 3-for-13 (23.1%) shooting in 24 minutes off the bench.
Murray is entering the final year of the five-year, $170 million contract extension he signed in 2019. He is reportedly eligible for a four-year, $208 million maximum extension this offseason. However, according to MacMahon, if he were Denver, he would hold off on extending Murray.
"I would be extremely concerned because it's not just about the Olympics, he had a rough playoffs. He shot 40.0% from the floor in the playoffs," MacMahon said Wednesday on "NBA Today." "He doesn't look like himself, he doesn't look healthy, he doesn't look explosive right now."
Jamal Murray dealt with a left calf strain during this year's NBA playoffs. However, there has been no indication that he was still dealing with the injury during the Olympics.
Nevertheless, MacMahon noted that the Nuggets' hand may be forced during extension talks due to the key role Murray played on their first NBA title team.
"It's a tough situation because he was the second-best player on a championship team very recently," MacMahon said. "If you don't give him the extension, those situations tend to get very sensitive. I would wait, though."
(from 2:43 mark onwards)
Also Read: HOF coach tears into Jamal Murray after Canada's elimination from Paris Olympics: "A bitter, bad attitude dude"
Ramona Shelburne expects Denver to extend Jamal Murray "soon after Olympics"
While Tim MacMahon thinks Denver should wait before extending Jamal Murray, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, his extension is a given. She added that she expects a deal to get finalized in the coming weeks.
"I think they're going to pay him. I think it's going to get done soon after the Olympics, and I wouldn't have any qualms about it," Shelburne said.
Shelburne also highlighted how Murray proved his value by helping the Nuggets come within one win of this year's Western Conference finals.
"I covered a lot of those playoff games. He had a calf injury for a lot of those, that's why he didn't look great, but he still won them a bunch of games," Shelburne said. "He put the Nuggets on his back in the fourth quarter several times against the [LA] Lakers and the [Minnesota] Timberwolves. I think you gotta just believe in your guy."
Over 12 postseason outings, Murray averaged 20.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.6 apg, 0.8 spg and 1.9 3pg, shooting 40.2%. However, time will tell if his playoff production will be enough for Denver to look past his rough Olympic performance.
Also Read: Did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander diss Jamal Murray calling him 'Robin to Joker'? Debunking rumors about Canadian teammates