Nikola Jokic officially became eligible for an extension with the Nuggets on Tuesday, but reportedly, he has informed the team that he won’t be signing any new contract this offseason.
Instead, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post, he prefers to wait to open contract negotiations until next summer, when he’ll be set to enter the final guaranteed year of his current deal, before facing a player option for the 2027-28 season that would pay him over $62.8 million.
But Nuggets fans shouldn’t panic, as this move actually makes a lot of financial sense for Jokic. By waiting until next offseason, he can sign an even larger and longer max extension to stay with the Nuggets, which would allow him to earn roughly $80 million more over the life of the deal.
In the introductory press conference for Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace, team chairman Josh Kroenke stated that the Nuggets would offer Jokic the extension this summer, but that they weren’t clear if he would sign it. He elaborated that they would present every option and work with Joker to figure out what makes the most sense for him and his family.
Apparently, Jokic has chosen to wait until next season to fully maximize his earning potential. This move makes complete sense for Jokic, and as scary as it is to see him turning down the opportunity to sign a guaranteed max extension that he’s eligible for, the move is somewhat expected and shouldn’t cause fans to panic.
Contract decision still allows Jokic leverage to leave Nuggets
However, there is still something to be said about Jokic deciding against an extra three years and $212 million guaranteed to stay with the Nuggets. Now, this coming season feels like a bit of an audition for the Nuggets’ new coaching staff and front office.
The early returns on the offseason seem good, but that’s all hypothetical and on paper. There’s no guarantee that the season will go well and that the pieces will fit well around Jokic. If things go off the rails and the team suffers another disappointing early playoff exit, the tenor of the situation will change completely.
Suddenly, Jokic will be going into the offseason, entering the final year of his deal, and there will be great urgency around his impending contract extension talks. If he’s not happy with the outlook of the franchise next summer, that’s when other teams will smell blood in the water.
Trade rumors will heat up, and things could get very crazy, very quickly for the Nuggets. But that’s a doomsday scenario, and it would take a lot of things going wrong. For now, this is a decision that makes sense for both sides, and the most likely outcome is that Jokic will sign a giant supermax extension next summer that paves the way for him to be in Denver for his entire career.