Nikola Jokic is up for a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets. However, he has said himself that he wants to delay signing that extension until next summer, when he is on his player option season, and the contract can be worth even more money. But hopefully, Victor Wembanyama just gave Jokic the idea that he might want to consider saving the Nuggets money for the good of his chances of winning another championship in the future.
Wembanyama decided on the 25% maximum instead of the 30% supermax escalators to $303M, after he and the Spurs went through multiple frameworks. A major decision for the All-NBA star and Defensive Player of the Year entering his fourth season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 10, 2026
San Antonio worked in close… https://t.co/CaPIeGtiZ4
Wembanyama just signed a five-year, $252 million extension with the San Antonio Spurs. But as Shams Charania reports, Wemby gave the Spurs a nice discount, allowing them to have greater financial flexibility in the future to build out their roster and remain competitive at the top longer.
It's the same path that Jalen Brunson had chosen with the Knicks, and that flexibility allowed the Knicks to build around him to win their first NBA title in 53 years this season.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are in financial purgatory, well over the NBA's luxury tax threshold and flirting with the NBA's second-apron penalties before they've even re-signed Peyton Watson. It's already difficult enough for the Nuggets, but Jokic getting a record-setting max contract next summer would handcuff his chances of another championship.
Jokic should aim to help himself win again
The Nuggets are currently showing what happens when you have two players on max contracts, plus pay your supporting cast well. The Nuggets' starting five of Jokic, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, and Cameron Johnson are on the hook for $185,731,005 for 2026-27, exceeding the salary cap by over $20 million with just five players locked up.
Now, the Nuggets can only sign players on minimum contracts, severely limiting the amount of talent available that could be brought to Denver to help Jokic win another title. What can Jokic do about this? He can help himself by taking a contract similar to Wembanyama next year.
The NBA's salary cap is not going up at the rate that teams thought it would, and that's really hitting some teams like the Nuggets head-on right now. Jokic would have the chance to save the Nuggets' cap room, thereby getting him more access to more talent on the free agency and trade market.
Sure, the Nuggets can pay fines over the second-apron and pay Jokic whatever he wants. But those fines can be huge, and well into the nine-figure range. That's not sustainable year after year, even for the richest of the sports owners. Neither is navigating the roster-building penalties that come with violating the second apron threshold.
Jokic could help himself have a better chance to win more in the future and keep his championship window open longer. Wemby just did it. Brunson did it. Can the Joker do it too?
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