The Nuggets and forward Aaron Gordon are optimistic about reaching an agreement on a contract extension, possibly as early as this week, sources inform Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
Gordon, 25, qualifies for a four-year extension worth up to $88MM, which would be tacked onto his $16.4MM salary for the 2021/22 season.
However, Denver is apparently not quite looking to ink the 25-year-old to a full maximum extension, Singer indicates. A source tells The Denver Post that a deal may in the range of $20-21MM annually for two or three years.
Gordon, a versatile forward who can play both positions, was acquired in a trade with the Magic at the deadline during the 2020/21 season to essentially replace Jerami Grant. Grant left the Nuggets in a sign-and-trade during his own free agency in 2020, eyeing a larger role with the Pistons on a three-year, $60MM deal that Denver offered to match. Gordon may wind up with a very similar new contract to the one first tendered to his predecessor in 2020.
Though Gordon proved to be an underwhelming addition on offense upon first arriving to Denver in a pandemic-truncated 2020/21 season, he exhibited plenty of athletic promise on defense playing alongside ascendant forward Michael Porter Jr. during his brief tenure with the Nuggets so far.
After averaging 14.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.8 BPG and 0.6 SPG on .437/.375/.629 across 25 games for a lottery-bound Orlando club, Gordon’s counting stats and three-point efficiency declined when he arrived on a team with serious playoff aspirations. In 25 games with Denver, he averaged 10.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, and 0.6 BPG on .500/.266/.705 shooting.
With starting point guard Jamal Murray most likely sidelined for the start of the season, Gordon could be featured more in the Nuggets’ offensive sets, behind 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic and Porter.