'We're probably paying him the supermax': Nuggets GM Calvin Booth on Jamal Murray contract extension, looking ahead to 2023-24 (Exclusive)

Not only did Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth sound bullish on the franchise’s chances to defend its NBA championship. He offered another prediction on the Nuggets will handle Jamal Murray’s upcoming contract negotiations.

“We’re anticipating that we’re probably paying him the supermax,” Booth told Sportskeeda. “He’ll probably make All-NBA.”

Murray has until Oct. 23 to agree to a three-year, $145 million extension. But Booth has expected that Murray will wait until next summer because he could earn the league’s supermax should he land on an All-NBA team. The Nuggets expect that will happen considering Murray’s stellar play during the team’s championship run and that he no longer has any restrictions surrounding his surgically repaired ACL in his left knee.

“It’s going to be a hit to our salary cap,” Booth said. “But I love seeing people reach their potential when they play the way he can.”

Booth spoke to Sportskeeda on Friday following the Nuggets’ final day of training camp at UC San Diego. Booth addressed various topics: the key’s to the Nuggets’ chances of winning another NBA title, if Nikola Jokic can win his third MVP, Murray’s contract talks and more.

Editor’s note: The following 1-on-1 conversation has been edited and condensed.

What’s been your takeaways from training camp so far?

Booth:

“I just think that a long-term season goal is to get our team playing at the highest level possible getting into the playoffs. Part of that is maturing into a team that handles business, which in the past we haven’t done in the regular season as far as having a stretch of games where we’re up and blowing a team away and Jokic gets to rest the last 10 minutes. You think about the San Antonio teams and the Golden State teams with Tim Duncan and [Stephen] Curry. Those teams were often doing that. If we ever get to that point this season, I feel a lot better about our chances with repeating. You have to be at that level of a team if you think you’ll be able to be a repeat champion.”

Why do you think that element is so important?

Booth:

“It means there’s a level of maturity and ability to take care of your business, focus and lock in. Obviously, it saves some wear and tear on your body and less time on the court.”

Some players have talked about the importance of having the No. 1 seed again. Obviously, you’d love to win every game. But how do you weigh that and the health priorities?

Booth:

“Going into the season, we’d like to get the No. 1 seed. But we’re facing a season full of firsts for a first-time champion. It just determines how it goes. If we can go get it, let’s get it. If not, we just have to get homecourt where we can.”

In your team’s case, the core guys are mostly in their prime without any major injuries. So I would imagine monitoring health is not as much of a concern compared to how it would be for a more veteran-heavy team. Is that a fair assessment?

Booth:

“Yeah, for sure. But health is so random. You never know. We’ll take it a game at a time, week at a time and month at a time and see where we can get to. I think if we can play the best basketball we can at the right time, we can win it like we did last year. We weren’t playing that well before the playoffs started. Then we turned it on to play some great basketball throughout the playoffs.”

You made an interesting point at Media Day that it’s not just about trying to defend a title; it’s also about trying to have a sustainable run. What do you think will go into that?

Booth:

“Being able to replenish talent. You understand the confines of the collective bargaining agreement. You attack roster building as such. We’re not going to be able to have five guys make a lot of money, or else we’re going to have a $300 million tax bill. With the way the new CBA is, if you have four max guys, you’re going to be in a bad [situation]. Knowing that, you have to set up your roster where guys can come in. The biggest lesson with losing Bruce [Brown] and Jeff [Green] last year? We knew were going to lose Bruce, but Jeff was a little bit of a surprise. But having playoff minutes leave the building hurts. So it’s about trying to have some continuity and keep those playoff minutes in the building so it can be rolled over into the next season.

Knowing how valuable Bruce, Jeff and Ish Smith are, what’s your comfort level that the current group can mitigate their absences?

Booth:

“We’ll definitely miss Jeff with his leadership in the locker room as well as Ish. Bruce’s play was dynamic. He brought an element to our team that we needed. But at the end of the day, we have Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and so forth. We have to be able to adjust and move on."

"Bruce is a very, very good NBA player. But everybody knows our team is built around Nikola Jokic. How we go is really how Nikola and Jamal go. That’s our team. We’ll miss Bruce, but I think people are ready to step up and step in with Christian Braun. Justin Holiday has looked great so far. I think we’ll have plenty of guys off the bench that will step into a role and do well.”

What have you seen from Christian and Justin that gives you that comfort level?

Booth:

“Justin has been polished and has been around for a while. I know he didn’t shoot the ball the best last season, but I feel like he has taken on the challenge to make sure he has a good year. He played fantastic in the intrasquad scrimmages. He made shots. He’s in the right spots. He guards."

"For Christian, the game has slowed down. He’s a two-way player. He brings athleticism, strength to the game, and the ability to make a shot. Christian will automatically start in Bruce’s role. He started in the scrimmages [on Friday]. Naturally, with more minutes and responsibilities, that opportunity for growth will be there."

"Justin Holiday is a pro. But guys like Peyton Watson, he’s seeing the game slow down and learning how to be a professional off the court, having a routine that he sticks to and getting work in. Let the chips fall where it may after you put the work in because a 21-year-old kid is going to make mistakes. The game is going to look fast for him. At other times, it’s going to look like he’s a master with everything. We have to roll with the punches with him because he’s a really talented kid.”

After you all clinched to go to the Finals, you told me that you thought Jokic had played in his best season thus far. What’s your outlook that this upcoming season could be even better?

Booth:

“The greats in this sport always find a way to top what they’ve done before. You just get smarter. You get more skilled. Things continue to slow down for them. He’s got a taste of winning. He knows what it feels like to close it out. So I think the more he gets to learn his environment and his matchups, the more he’s able to adjust to it. That turns to better play. Who knows. Maybe he’ll start smacking the ball with the back of his hand like he did last year. Who knows what new trick he pulls out of his bag.”

Even if Jokic shows more of the same, that’s still a testament in and of itself. What does he do to keep replicating that high level of play?

Booth:

“Stay present, sticks with his work routine and doesn’t get overwhelmed with the attention and the success he has. I think he does a very good job with staying grounded.”

What’s your outlook that he can get his third MVP in four years?

Booth:

“I don’t think it matters to him. But I think he’ll play the best basketball he can. If gets to playing well and we win a lot of games, he has a great shot at it.”

Some guys mentioned he’s more vocal. What examples have you seen of that?

Booth:

“As a group, they really took ownership of spending time together as a team and having a lot of team meals and communicating off the court and trying to come together as a group. There was a moment when they had a gathering at his house before the start of the playoffs that was the culmination of that.

What was the significance of that?

Booth:

“He likes his solitude and likes to be with his family. For him to go outside of himself and invite people over was important. He enlisted Jeff [Green] and DJ [Deandre Jordan] to invite people. They said, ‘No, you have to invite the guys yourself.’ If you invite them, they’ll come. We’ll show up. So he invited them and everyone came over. Apparently, they had a great time.”

Now that Jamal is further removed from his ACL injury and he had a great playoff run, how do you see him building off of this?

Booth:

“He’s really focused and locked in. I think he’s going to have a big season. We’re anticipating that we’re probably paying him the supermax. He’ll probably make All-NBA. Everybody knows it’s out there, so we might as well talk about it. He obviously knows that carrot is out there for him. But more than the financial reward for it, he’s a competitor. I definitely think, even if he doesn’t say it out loud, that will definitely be on his mind and will be approaching the season that way. It’s all tied together. Everybody just think he’s a great playoff guy. But if he has a great regular season and makes all-NBA, it’ll be like killing two birds with one stone.”

What do you think of his All-Star chances?

Booth:

“Hopefully we start to garner some respect with his play and the way we compete on the court. Then we start getting multiple All-Stars. I felt like we had three All-Stars with Aaron, Michael [Porter Jr.] and Nikola, but we got one. But hopefully, we get multiple All-Stars this year."

You alluded to it about the supermax. Given that, is it safe to presume that you’re anticipating any extension wouldn’t happen until after this season?

Booth:

“I think so. It’s a little carrot for him. Obviously, it’s going to be a hit to our salary cap, but I love seeing people reach their potential when they play the way he can. So if he accomplishes a goal and makes All-NBA, I know Josh [Kroenke] and Mr. K [Stan Kroenke] are big Jamal guys. So, we’ll step up and do what we need to do.”

I imagine you would all entertain agreeing to an extension now if Jamal changed his mind and preferred having the security now instead of waiting?

Booth:

“We’ve talked to them about it. They opted to wait. That was a wise decision for them.”

Following MPJ’s strong season, how do you envision him building off of that?

Booth:

“Continuing to add different parts of his game other than shooting and scoring with passing, rebounding and giving effort. But we can also find a better way to try to get him in with the second unit and utilize him in plays instead of having him as a spot-up shooter. I think he’ll look forward toward the opportunity to do that. I know that’s on Coach Malone’s mind. He loves to score. He averaged 38 points in high school. It’ll probably energize him if he gets more touches.”

His ankle injury aside from training camp, in what ways will being further removed from his back injuries help his game?

Booth: “That’s big for him. He’s getting used to his reality. The Michael Porter Jr. in high school was probably 25% better athletically. He’s used to playing with his back situation, and yet he’s still one of the premier athletes in the NBA. He works his tail off. He’s going to do everything to stay healthy and stay on the court. It’s probably more of a case of him avoiding any overuse.”

Malone said he’s talked to the players about holding each other accountable and allowing them to be coached hard in hopes this helps them defend the title. How have you seen Malone take that approach so far?

Booth:

“It’s more of a slow burner. As we get more into camp and preseason, he’ll get more information. When there are times we’re not doing what we need to do, I think he’ll be ready to turn it up a little bit. I think he’s done a great job with managing these guys and starting off in good spirits because we did win a championship. These guys have a long stretch ahead of them. Hopefully we’re playing well into June again.”

You’re coming off the title run and have most of the core back. But how do you gauge the rest of the landscape with the Lakers also valuing continuity and Phoenix, Milwaukee, Boston and Golden State making big trades?

Booth:

“One of the good things about winning a championship is you really can have a focus on yourself and on what you need to do. I know our team. Coach Malone knows our team. Mr. K and Josh knows our team. We know what we need to do and what will allow us to have success over this window with Nikola Jokic and Jamal.”

Phoenix Suns v Denver Nuggets - Game Five

What were your off-season highlights after winning the NBA title?

Booth:

“I was more of an idle bystander. I enjoyed watching the guys – Reggie [Jackson], Ish Smith, Jeff [Green], Deandre – all guys that have been around the league and didn’t get to experience winning a championship. I still don’t know if it’s quite hit me yet like it will probably a few years from now when I’m out of the weeds. Then, I’ll start thinking about what we did and what we accomplished. It was definitely something never to forget.”

Your lane is so different because right after the championship you have to prepare for the draft, free agency, and Summer League. Do you even get to enjoy it?

Booth:

“The way my mind works is, ‘We won it quite frankly before some people thought we would, so there is an opportunity to win multiple titles. So how do you maximize that window and optimize it?’ That’s exciting for me to think about more than anything. It’s all a whirlwind and a never-ending thing. And now we’re right back at training camp ready to go into another season.”

What do you expect Ring Night will be like, when you think about the symbolism and that it takes place before playing the Lakers?

Booth:

“Including myself, we just have to take it in and enjoy the experience and take stock of it and handle it the best way we can. Hopefully we get a win in front of our fans. If we don’t, hopefully we’ll have the information on what it’s like to go through the very first time a ring ceremony with the adrenaline and the energy that comes from the other team. I think our guys will be ready for it.”

Mark Medina is an NBA Insider at Sportskeeda. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads