Zeke Nnaji signs four-year extension with Nuggets
Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji has signed a four-year, $32 million extension with the organization with a player option in the final season, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report Saturday evening.
Denver Nuggets forward/center Zeke Nnaji has agreed on a four-year, $32 million contract extension, Adam Pensack of @PensackSports tells ESPN. The deal includes a player option. pic.twitter.com/pBuQVgL3ZS
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 22, 2023
Nnaji, the No. 22 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, was entering his fourth-and-final year of his rookie deal. Monday was the deadline for rookie scale deals to be signed. Nnaji’s $32 million extension will begin at just over $7.0 million next year, a very inexpensive cost.
Nnaji has been viewed as one of Denver’s developmental projects. He appeared in 53 games last season, averaging 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds across 13.7 minutes in 53 games (five starts)–equating to 13.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per 36 minutes. He only appeared in five playoff games during the Nuggets’ NBA Title run, totaling five points on four shots with a pair of boards and one steal in only 12 minutes.
The 6-foot-9 big could see ample minutes behind two-time MVP Nikola Jokic this season; as our own Jerry Walker alluded to in our Denver Nuggets season preview, they were a disaster last year when Jokic went to the bench.
The numbers back up that sentiment.
The Nuggets were a minus-11.6 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time situations without Jokic on the floor, according to Cleaning The Glass. Thankfully for Denver, the tide was stemmed by veteran wing Jeff Green in the postseason, who acted as their small-ball 5 instead of DeAndre Jordan and Thomas Bryant.
Now, Green is no longer there, and it re-signed Jordan this offseason. But if Nnaji can emerge and separate himself as a viable backup 5 and not crater their minutes, Denver’s floor on a night-to-night basis will rise ten-fold.
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