The New York Knicks won their first NBA title in 53 years, ending a historic drought, thanks in part to an uncanny move by Jalen Brunson two years ago to help set the Knicks up. Brunson was max contract eligible for much more money a year later, but he instead left a whole lot of money on the table for roster flexibility. It worked. And it's a move that Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets should take.
Nikola Jokic is eligible to sign a contract extension for either three or four years with the Denver Nuggets at any moment now that the NBA Finals have concluded. However, there has been no indication to think that Jokic won't sign for anything less than the max extension, which would be a handcuff to the Nuggets' roster construction during his twilight years.
His current max contract is already a bit of a problem, and it's part of why the Nuggets are well past the luxury tax threshold heading into 2026-27 and needing to shed salary to avoid the second apron.
Jokic needs to take the Brunson path
We all know just how good Jokic is. He's been carding the Best Basketball Player in the World title for at last six years now, and he's finished top-two in MVP voting all six years. He deserves the money, no doubt. But if he wants to win, Brunson just provided the roadmap on how to get there.
Brunson signed a year early with the Knicks on his extension, agreeing to a deal that paid him $113 million less than he could have signed for a year later. Brunson settled on a four-year extension worth $156 million in 2024, and the Knicks got to work on improving the roster around Brunson with the extra cash.
The Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges, re-signed OG Anunoby, and traded for Karl-Anthony Towns after failing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals the year prior. They made the Eastern Conference finals the following year and won the NBA title this year.
The Knicks rebuilt and retooled differently than teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, proving it can be done through trades and forward thinking from Brunson. All told, Brunson will have saved the Knicks $37.1 million in cap space over the three years of his guaranteed contract.
Would Jokic even consider this path?
Obviously, we don't know if Jokic would even consider this path, but he should. The Nuggets have a notoriously cheap ownership group, despite being luxury tax offenders for three consecutive years before ducking the tax this year.
Sure, it wouldn't help the Nuggets in 2026-27 or 2027-28, but beyond that, when Jokic is 33 years old, and under contract until he is 36 or 37, it would help. A lot.
Jokic should be doing some forward thinking and be willing to sign for much less than the max to clear up future cap space, and have a better shot at winning more championships before he retires.
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