Rumors. Like the classic Fleetwood Mac album. Just a bunch of rumors. That's all these blurbs will amount to. But that isn't stopping the league and fans of other teams from circling overhead like a bunch of vultures, waiting for the Denver Nuggets to flop in hopes that it drives their three-time MVP to explore his options in free agency next summer.
Nuggets fans already knew it was going to be a long year of rumors popping up left and right about where Joker will land if the Nuggets have a poor season. And the latest report from NBA insider Jake Fischer says that there are approximately eight to ten teams that should have enough room to add a maximum contract next summer. They're already circling.
Fans of other teams are hopeful to get a shot at Jokic
While there aren't any confirmed reports of teams angling for Jokic, it certainly isn't stopping other fan bases from wishing for what seems improbable to Nuggets fans. They're getting spurred on by things like the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade, or the fact that the Nuggets haven't made marked improvements to their roster. And while that part may be true to some degree (the Nuggets did better than some think), the Nuggets are still picked to be a top team in the Western Conference this season.
Jokic already knows what the Nuggets are going to be up against down the road as long as he is taking a maximum contract extension, which will be the largest contract in NBA history when he signs it. The Nuggets will be up against the same hurdles they're up against this year with roster construction, unless, of course, they take a gap year in 2027-28 or the following year to reset the luxury tax situation.
He keeps delaying the signing of that extension so he can make more money. He knows what that comes with. But the fact that Joker can opt out of the final year of his contract by declining his player option if he wants to play somewhere else is too salivating for the other fan bases to let go of. And I get it. It's not every day your franchise could have even the faintest hint of a chance to add the best basketball player in the world.
Jokic says he isn't going anywhere. We should take his word
I know it's hard to have comfort without a signature on the dotted line of the extension by Jokic, But he's always maintained that he wants to be in Denver for the rest of his career. And we have to take him at his word, which is, thankfully, probably the most solid word in the NBA.
Toronto Raptors head coach and fellow Serbian, Darko Rajakovic, who coached Jokic as an assistant on the Serbia national team, said, "Nikola Jokic is the best player we [Serbia] have ever had. As great of a player as he is, and he is fantastic, he is an even better person." Exactly. Nuggets fans know this.
Sure, Nuggets fans would be much more comfortable with that signature. But at least Jokic's word means something. He's probably not leaving Denver next year. But it won't keep the vultures from circling as long as they think they have any chance.
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