On December 20, 2023, Beijing time, according to a report by Nuggets reporter Harrison Wind, the team's big man Pope officially rejected the team's 4-year $80 million early contract extension**, insisting on asking for a 4-year 1A large contract of $200 million, and the Pope team is very resolute, making it clear that they will not accept contract extensions with an average salary of less than $30 million**. Due to the disagreement between the two sides on the salary of the contract extension, the early contract extension has not been agreed, and Pope may leave the Nuggets this summer.
As an important contributor to the Nuggets' championship last season, Pope can be called the top 3D player in the current team, and his attributes are very suitable for the system of today's Nuggets. So far this season, Pope is averaging 32In 6 minutes of playing time, you can get 105 points, 2 rebounds, 25 assists 14 steals 04 blocks and 45 percent shooting7%, 40 three-point shooting7% and 90 free throw percentage2%, with a bright performance on both offensive and defensive ends, he is also the team's most relied on outside defensive gate. Pope's annual salary this season is 14.7 million, and judging from his current contributions on both offensive and defensive ends, it is still very worthwhile. At the end of this season, Pope will have a player option for next season, and for now, the 30-year-old Pope will most likely choose to jump out of his contract next summer and test the free market in search of the last big contract of his career.
As the defending champions, the Nuggets have seen varying degrees of decline on both ends of the floor this season, and so far this season, although they have an 18-10 record, they can rank third in the West. However, in terms of overall performance and dominance, they have dropped significantly from their championship season. As the league's top wing 3D player, Pope plays a vital role in the Nuggets, not only does he play the role of a defensive spearhead on the defensive end, often facing the opposing team's star players, he also needs to maintain a consistent outside shooting and scoring output on the offensive end, the task can be described as quite heavy, but Pope can do his job well. In terms of tactical roles, Pope has an irreplaceable position in the current Nuggets roster.
Overall, with Pope's attributes, he obviously won't lack suitors. And the Nuggets also very much want to keep this champion hero, they also understand the importance of Pope to this team, but they are really shy, the Nuggets squad already has Murray, Porter Jr., Jokic three top salary players, and Aaron Gordon's annual salary is also more than 20 million, leaving them with obviously limited salary space. Pope is a good fit for the Nuggets, but the team may struggle to meet his salary needs at the moment. While Pope has said on more than one occasion that he likes to stay in Denver, it is clear that he will not choose to take a pay cut to stay with the team, and the salary gap makes it difficult for the two sides to agree.
For a star of Pope's level, it is clear that he wants a higher salary, after all, he has already won a championship, and the new contract is bound to work hard for a higher salary. And in today's small-ball league, the asking price of players with the best 3D attributes will not be low, all of which indicates that Pope will part ways with the Nuggets this summer. How much do you think Pope deserves a contract extension based on his current performances?