Will Barton Turned Down Extension Offer In Fall

Nuggets shooting guard Will Barton turned down a contract extension offer from the club early last October, league sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN. According to Haynes, the four-year offer would have been worth just shy of $42MM, the maximum Denver could put on the table.

Haynes reports that Barton’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, advised his client to bet on himself rather than accepting the Nuggets’ offer, and the 27-year-old has delivered in 2017/18 with the best season of his six-year career. In 78 games (37 starts), Barton has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 4.1 APG with a shooting line of .448/.363/.808. As Haynes details, Denver also has a 20-9 record when Barton plays 35 or more minutes.

Barton tells Haynes that, heading into 2018/19, there’s “no question” in his mind that he’s a starter. And while he’ll be presumably seeking a starting opportunity, he mostly wants to end up with a team that envisions a major role for him.

“I think the biggest things I’m looking for is respect, honesty and a team that’s going to be real aggressive and show that they really want me,” Barton said. “I want to be where I can be able to showcase my entire game on a regular basis, somewhere they really believe in me and are ready for me to have a bigger role.”

Pointing to Lou Williams‘ surprisingly modest three-year, $24MM agreement with the Clippers, Haynes writes that there’s no guarantee Barton will do better than the four-year, $42MM offer he passed on in the fall. Of course, if Denver wants to put that offer back on the table, the team would be able to do so until June 30, the last day Barton can sign an extension with the Nuggets.

Such a deal would be identical to the ones signed by Norman Powell (Raptors) and Josh Richardson (Heat) last year — both of those contracts start at $9,367,200 in 2018/19 and are worth $41,965,056 in total.