Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic to wait until next summer for contract talks: reports

LOS ANGELES – Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, eligible as at July 8 for a contract extension, will wait until 2026 to negotiate a new deal, the Denver Post and ESPN reported.

A three-time Most Valuable Player, Jokic is eligible for a three-year, US$206.4 million (S$264.3 million) contract extension, which Nuggets management has publicly said it would offer. However, the centre could wait for a max contract worth US$285.4 million, if he signs in the summer of 2026.

Jokic, 30, has until Oct 20 to sign for the lesser total, per reports, or can continue to play the three years left on a five-year, US$276 million extension he signed in the summer of 2022. The final season, 2027-28, is a player option valued at US$62.8 million.

The player-option year would be replaced by a new deal, or he can wait until 2026 and add a fourth year at an extra US$77 million, per ESPN.

Contract negotiations will consider factors like salary-cap increases and performance incentives. However, once the upcoming season begins, no contract extensions can be made until July 1.

“We’re definitely going to offer it,” Nuggets president Josh Kroenke told reporters recently of a contract extension this summer for Jokic.

“I’m not sure if he’s going to accept it or not, because we’re also going to explain every financial parameter around him signing now versus signing later. To be completely transparent, that’s the way we always are. And then he makes the best decision for himself and his family, and we’ll support him in it.”

A seven-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, Jokic will be in for a lucrative contract either way.

The native of Serbia arrived in Denver as a second-round selection (41st pick overall) in the 2014 NBA Draft. He earned MVP honours in the 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons and has been a top-two finalist for five straight years.

Jokic averaged a triple-double with 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists along with 1.8 steals and 36.7 minutes in starting 70 regular-season games last season – with the scoring and assists at career-high rates. He averaged 26.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists in 14 play-off games.

He has career averages of 21.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 31.7 minutes in 745 regular-season games (704 starts). Jokic led the Nuggets to the league championship in 2023, earning NBA Finals MVP honours.

In other news, two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown says he is embracing the expectations that come with taking the helm of the New York Knicks, a storied NBA franchise that has gone without a title for 52 years.

“Nobody has bigger expectations than I do,” Brown told reporters at the Knicks’ practice facility on Tuesday, one day after the team confirmed he had been hired to replace the fired Tom Thibodeau.

“My expectations are high. This is the Knicks and Madison Square Garden. It’s iconic. I love and embrace the expectations that come along with it.”

The Knicks, who have not won an NBA title since 1973, reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000, but lost to the Indiana Pacers.

That was enough to prompt the Knicks to sack Thibodeau on June 3 after he spent five years as head coach. “I thought Tom Thibodeau did a great job, and the guys did a fantastic job last year,” said Brown, adding he feels the Knicks roster is “outstanding”.

“What they did in the play-offs shows their potential,” he said, praising the versatility of Jalen Brunson and offensive potential of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. But he also said there was “a lot of work to be done”.

“I’ve had great conversations with all our players, and I’m looking forward to growing positive, strong relationships with all of them over time,” Brown added.

“We can’t skip any steps. It’s about one day, one practice, one shootaround at a time.” REUTERS, AFP