Nuggets Sign Former First-Round Pick to Big Contract Extension

The Denver Nuggets have agreed to a contract extension with Zeke Nnaji

It was announced by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Denver Nuggets have agreed to a four year, $32M contract extension with forward/center Zeke Nnaji. This is a very good move for the Nuggets, who lock up a promising young big man for a reasonable salary.

In his report, Wojnarowski wrote, “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. Nnaji has been an another player development success story for the defending NBA champions and is expected to take on a more prominent role with the Nuggets this season.”

As Wojnarowski noted, the Nuggets have been very good at developing their own talent during this era. It is a big reason they are the defending NBA Champions, as so much of their roster is homegrown talent. This is not something many teams around the league can say, but the Nuggets certainly take pride in drafting and developing talent that they can keep in their system for years.

As has been seen across the league, drafting and developing talent is only part of the battle. Locking up these players and keeping them on one team is often the difficult part, and the Nuggets avoided that difficulty with this extension for Nnaji.

Looking to defend their title, the Nuggets will need some players to step up who weren’t major factors last season. Losing some key pieces in free agency, the Nuggets will be betting on their internal options taking steps forward next season, and Nnaji could certainly be one of those players for Denver who takes a leap.