Nuggets screwed over the Spurs in negotiating a new deal for De'Aaron Fox

The San Antonio Spurs just handed the bag to De'Aaron Fox, signing him to a four-year maximum extension that will start at 30 percent of next year's salary cap; it could reach as high as $229 million in total value. And it's all Jamal Murray's fault.

Alright, that is stating things too strongly. But there is a throughline back to Murray that tied the Spurs' hands in the De'Aaron Fox negotiations. Whatever your stance on whether the Spurs were right to offer this extension, it's a fact that this is an expensive deal. Fox will be making $61.6 million in 2029-30, his age-32 season.

The problem that skeptics have with the contract is that Fox is not a Top-20 player in the league; in fact, it's arguable that he is not in the Top 30. He played well in his only career playoff series, but he doesn't have a proven postseason track record. He has made a single All-Star appearance, although he also notched an All-NBA selection as well.

NBA contracts are largely built on comparatives, or "comps" if you will, and Fox's camp had a major point of leverage outside of the fact that the Spurs already gave up assets to trade for him and likely negotiated this deal at the time: Jamal Murray signed a max extension with the Denver Nuggets last year, and in doing so reset the guard market.

Jamal Murray ensured De'Aaron Fox would get paid

Murray has never made an All-Star team, never been All-NBA, and his career-high in points for a season is just 21.4 points per game. And yet his stature in the league, largely built through heroic playoff performances (he has twice averaged over 26 per game in a postseason run), led to a maximum contract extension.

The Nuggets didn't have to offer a full max deal; Murray's regular season inconsistencies and injury history should have given them some room to negotiate. When they didn't, and merely gave him a maximum contract, it raised the bar for other teams and their guards.

Why would Fox get something less than Murray? Fox is 27 years old, the same age as Murray last year when he signed his extension. He has an All-NBA appearance to his name, which Murray did not and does not have. He has never had a teammate like Nikola Jokic, but he did average 27.4 points, 7.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals in his solo playoff appearance.

Add in that Murray would have hit free agency this season, when very few teams had significant cap space, to Fox hitting the market next summer, when half the league could have significant cap space, and there was no chance Fox was going to take less than Murray got, a full 30 percent max extension. The Spurs could have waited things out, but it's unlikely they would have had the leverage to negotiate him off of the max.

Jamal Murray secured the bag without any true accolades other than some big shots in the playoffs; any point guard with a hint of a resume stronger than his will expect the max. That may have happened anyway with De'Aaron Fox, but Murray's deal ensured the Spurs had no shot at anything else.