Jamal Murray may have cost himself millions with disastrous Olympics performance

Team Canada went into the Paris Olympics with large hopes of leaving with a medal. But their run was cut shorter than expected.

A significant factor in Team Canada's early exit in Paris was Jamal Murray's absence on the court. He was there physically but didn't seem to be there mentally as he played like he was still struggling with jet lag and not his usual self.

This isn't the first time we have seen this from Murray. Since the first round of the NBA playoffs, when the Denver Nuggets played the Los Angeles Lakers, Murray has not looked like himself. The Nuggets exited in the second round, and as each game went on, Murray scored fewer and fewer points and simply did not show up for the Nuggets. He was a big factor in why they couldn't win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

For Team Canada, he looked even worse. He averaged six points per game, shooting 41.2 percent from and 14.3 percent from beyond the arc. Murray came off the bench but failed to provide the spark Canada needed, as he averaged 21 minutes on the court in four games while also averaging 2.3 turnovers per game and just 3.8 assists.

This was Murray's first Olympics for Team Canada and before the knockout stage, they were 3-0 until they faced France, who defeated them 82-73. In the loss against France, Murray shot 3-of-13 and scored just seven points while turning the ball over three times.

Murray now has more to be concerned about after his performance in Paris, considering he is in the middle of contract negotiations with the Nuggets. And his performance on the court doesn't help him.

However, his role in Canada greatly differed from his role in Denver. He was teamed up with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, where he played off the ball much more, and he was also without his partner Nikola Jokic when it came to pick-and-roll to the basket. So while his performance was rough, the Nuggets need to take some of those considerations into consideration while looking into his new contract.

Brian Windhorst talked on The Hoop Collective podcast about the Nuggets' decision regarding the new contract.

“Murray’s going into the last of his contract. This is when you extend if you’re him. By the way, the number is four years and $208 million if he extends now,” Windhorst said. “So the question is does Denver extend him at that number after seeing the way he’s played. Also, I’ll point out that where he’s at in his contract arch, he doesn’t have to extend now, or in September, or in October, or anytime next season.”

Murray was already offered a contract, but it's likely that he wasn't satisfied with the number unless he would've already signed.

So the big question is, does Murray deserve a new $200 million contract? No, he does not, and he proved that himself with his performances in the playoffs and Olympics.