Nikola Jokic made headlines this week, with reporting indicating that he may not pursue an extension, which could be worth over $200MM, with the Nuggets until next summer, despite entering a potential contract year.
Jokic has publicly stated that he wants to be a “Nugget forever,” and the belief is that he is delaying talks because there’s no particular urgency for him to get a deal done now. In fact, waiting a year would make him eligible to add an extra year onto the extension, Michael Scotto notes for HoopsHype.
However, the lack of an agreement this offseason would create a level of pressure on Nuggets leadership that is somewhat unprecedented during the Jokic era, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line write in their latest Substack article. At his end-of-season press conference, president Josh Kroenke conveyed that moving anyone besides Jokic would be “on the table” this summer, reflecting the team’s awareness that roster changes are necessary after a disappointing first-round exit.
The report also implies that Jokic may be exercising some level of pressure on the Nuggets to ensure that they deliver a roster he can compete with, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post speculates (Twitter link), who wonders if that would impact the Nuggets’ financial decision-making this offseason.
The Nuggets do not have a mandate to cut costs this summer, Sam Amick reports for The Athletic (subscriber link), despite a widespread expectation that they’ll look to avoid going deep into tax/apron territory. Denver has also seen the fallout from the Celtics offering Jaylen Brown in their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and is cautious of alienating its own important players should a rumored deal fall through. That’s one reason the Nuggets are not actively shopping Gordon and Murray, though they are at least picking up the phone on offers.
There are a number of directions the Nuggets could take this offseason if they trade a starter. As we relayed earlier today, Cameron Johnson has drawn interest from the Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Clippers, and Magic, according to Scotto, while Aaron Gordon has reportedly viewed as a backup target for both the Heat and Trail Blazers if they weren’t able to complete trades for Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown, respectively.
Valuable bench scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. will likely only return to the Nuggets if he’s willing to sign at a discount, given that he’s expected to have suitors who could outbid Denver.
While Gordon and Jamal Murray remain two players the Nuggets would prefer to retain, the team has at least explored what might be on the market for the two veterans, Stein and Fischer report.
The Stein Line crew also notes that the Nuggets are looking for a former head coach to add as the top assistant under David Adelman for next season.
