Report: League executives expect Gary Harris to cash in with extension

Nuggets’ shooting guard Gary Harris is extension-eligible this summer and one of Denver’s top priorities this offseason is re-signing the two-way wing.

According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, league executives expect Harris’ to command around $20 million per year.

You’d assume the Pacers would want Harris and a lightly protected Nuggets pick. Harris is eligible for an extension now, and most executives expect him to command about $20 million per year — only $4 million less than Love’s average salary. Love is better than Harris, and he’s under contract for at least two more years; he has a $25.5 million player option for the third year, 2019-20, and given his age and injury history, it’s not crazy to imagine Love picking it up — and for the Nuggets to be fine with that. Very few player options hit that sweet spot. (I’d still wager on Love cashing in on a long-term deal at that point.)

Harris’ contract is mentioned in context with the reported trade that was discussed between the Pacers, Cavs, and Nuggets at the time of the draft around Kevin Love and Paul George. Love would have been sent to Denver, George to Cleveland and assets from the Nuggets to both the Pacers and Cavs. Lowe predicts that either Harris or multiple first round picks would have to be sent to Indiana for those talks to be revisited.

“It’s up there,” Nuggets’ POBO Tim Connelly said in April when asked how high up on his priority list extending Harris is this offseason. “Gary is a guy that really embodies everything we’re about both his development as a person and a player.”

“The neat thing is this summer it’s up to us and Gary. We’ll be pretty aggressive trying to get something done,” Connelly continued. “If we don’t, we’ll go to the following season and get something done. He’s going to be here for a long time whether that number’s in stone this summer or in 2018.”

With a presumed extension for Harris incoming and future contracts for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on the horizon, Denver has to be careful how they spend this summer. Targeting Paul Millsap, who will likely command a salary of at least $30 million per season, could have an effect on how the Nuggets are able to pay their young core in the future, especially if that contract lasts the maximum four years.

Here’s what a max contract for Millsap would look like under the latest projected salary cap for next season if he signs with Denver, which in total would come out to $148,995,000 over 4 years:

Year 1: $34,650,000

Year 2: $36,382,500

Year 3: $38,115,000

Year 4: $39,847,500

Around $20 million per year for Harris for a contract lasting four seasons should be something Denver jumps on quickly. Under a slightly lower cap last summer, Allen Crabbe signed a four-year $75 million contract ($18.75 million per year), while Harrison Barnes signed for four years and $94 million ($23.5 million per year). 28-year-old Ryan Anderson agreed to a four-year $80 million contract ($20 million per year) with Houston.

Harris is significantly more valuable than any of those players.