moocow007 wrote:The amount aside, did they need to do the extension now or could they have waited?
They could've waited, given the QO, then tempt RFA. I think they'd ultimately have to pay the max to retain him in RFA. By extending him, they probably got the last year partially guaranteed and were able to put in $30 mil in incentive based salary that otherwise might've just been fully guaranteed.
It's a good deal for the Nuggets and MPJ both. Nuggets retain a key piece of their team and become perennial contenders through their core's prime (health permitting). It was a move they had to make as they'd have no path to getting a player of MPJ's calibre otherwise.