Keegan Murray’s injury is not stopping him from getting paid.
The Kings forward agreed to a five-year, $140 million rookie contract extension with Sacramento on Wednesday, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported.
The move comes hours after the Kings reportedly signed veteran Russell Westbrook to a one-year deal worth $3.6 million.
Murray, 25, would have hit restricted free agency after this season, but now he will remain in the fold through at least 2030-31.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft has provided the Kings with consistency in his three years in the league, garnering an All-Rookie selection in his first season.
Last year, Murray averaged 12.4 points with a career-high 6.7 rebounds per game.
The Kings will be without Murray for at least the next 4-6 weeks after he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb during a preseason game on Friday.
He underwent surgery in New York on Monday.
Dr. Amy Ladd of Stanford University told NBC Sports California that Murray might not fully heal for at least six months.
“It probably takes three to six months for the ligament to repair or for the injury to fully heal,” Ladd told the outlet. “So there will be some protection involved, even if he’s cleared for sport earlier on. I think four weeks is early. Eight weeks-plus is about right without protection.
The Kings will look for a bounce-back season under Doug Christie, who is now the team’s full-time coach after he took over on an interim basis last season following the midseason dismissal of current Knicks bench boss Mike Brown.
Sacramento has missed the main playoffs the past two seasons and is hoping to reverse that this season.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
