They believe in Murray. They also didn't want him to get potentially get a 3 + 1 deal in RFA, prefer to have him locked in for 5 years.
not a bad idea on their part. wondering if Danny's thinking along those lines for Jaylen and subsequently Jayson.
It's not a bad idea, but it hasn't always worked out for other teams (see Andrew Wiggins). They must truly believe in him as a player.
Also, I keep seeing, 'if they don't lock up X for an extension now, they may only be able to secure him for 3 years.' While this is technically true, if Murray played out the year and proved himself worthy of a 5-yr max contract (with 8% raises), it is highly unlikely he turns that down just to sign a 3+1 offer sheet with another team (since the Nuggets would just match). That seems like a very costly decision that a player would only do out of spite. And 3 years is a long time - if that player still despises the franchise in 2 years, you trade him for a solid package.
Because Jaylen isn't a slam dunk at this point, I see no way the Cs give him the 5-yr max extension now. It would however be wonderful if he proved himself to be that player this season and see him eventually get that contract. If not, well, we are left negotiating as we did with Smart (not likely since he'll get other offers), letting him walk (impossible), or only being on the hook for the same 3+1 contract (with 5% raises) that a FA would get with another team.