Nikola Jokić could become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he declines his $62.8 million player option. The Denver Nuggets would prefer to lock him down to a new contract before he has the chance to even think about hitting free agency. He understandably wants to wait to extend until next offseason, when he can sign a longer deal for more money. Even knowing that, the vultures are circling.
It's probably safe to assume that the Lakers are one of those vultures, and they could sell Jokić on finally playing alongside his good friend, Luka Dončić, for a storied organization. The thing is, Los Angeles is already proving why it wouldn't be a good fit for the superstar who prefers to lay low.
Jokić doesn't bask in the spotlight; he turns from it, something that would be even harder to do if he lived in Los Angeles. Not only that, but he'd get wrapped up in what's going on within the organization, even if he has nothing to do with it, which is what's happening to Dončić right now.
Last week, Mark Walter agreed to sell his ownership stake to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a record-breaking $12.5 billion valuation. If you can remember way back to last October, that's when Walter's agreement to take over the Lakers became official, so he wasn't around for long.
After Walter agreed to sell, five of the Buss siblings (all except Jeanie) agreed to sell their stake to the new ownership, which, if it becomes official, means Jeanie Buss won't be governor anymore, since the NBA requires at least a 15% stake. She's fighting it, and it could go to court.
That's... a lot.
Jokić isn't your typical NBA superstar
Jokić returns home to Serbia during the NBA offseason, where he can enjoy time with family and friends and, of course, attend horse races. You don't see or hear much from him.
The same goes for the free time he has during the season. He can't go out in public in Colorado without being recognized, but playing in Denver gives him the luxury of flying under the radar as much as he can. Jokić could still maintain a sense of that in Los Angeles, but his world would be completely different.
It'd probably be hard for the Lakers to sell him on moving to LA, much harder than it apparently was for Walter, Iger, and Kushner to agree to a deal in a few days.
Jokić shouldn't be looking at what's going on with the Lakers now, thinking he needs to cross Los Angeles off his potential suitors list, since he's probably not thinking about that at all. He's said on numerous occasions that he wants to remain in Denver, most recently a few weeks ago, when he said he intended to wait to sign a new contract until next offseason.
But if he were ever to change his mind and seriously think about leaving the Nuggets, the Lakers are giving a glimpse into how things could look.
Lakers are a mess right now
Walter bought the Lakers for $10 billion, and 14 months after he agreed to take over, he agreed to sell his stake for $2.5 billion more than he paid. It's almost as if he bought a house and flipped it, making an unfathomable amount of money to us everyday people.
Setting aside why he agreed to sell, Walter moving on so soon reflects instability within the organization, marking what's become a theme in Dončić's career, as Iger and Kushner will be the fifth and sixth owners he's played for, dating back to his time in Dallas.
Players can typically carry on business as usual while these changes are in progress, but because Dončić is central to the Lakers, one of Iger and Kushner's top priorities should be meeting with him and establishing a line of communication. As Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported on Sunday, that's in the works (subscription required).
Now, it's hard to believe Jokić would go to Los Angeles next summer; he'd join Dončić in the middle of yet another ownership change. While that could happen, that's not the point.
No matter what the Lakers do, big or small, it will make headlines. What's going on with them right now, from the sale to the Buss family drama, has only cast more attention on the organization as a whole. As the face of the franchise, Dončić is involved in it all, even from afar. He'll have to be ready to give his thoughts on it, too (probably more than once) when he's back in front of the media.
It's hard to think that sounds appealing at all to Jokić. Los Angeles might be thinking "never say never," since they got Dončić in what seemed like an impossible trade, but in this case, you can probably confidently say never.
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