Nikola Jokic can make the Denver Nuggets sweat a little longer.
According to a Saturday report from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, holding off on a contract extension this summer is again “under consideration” for the three-time MVP, who becomes eligible to sign a new deal in early July. It would be the second straight offseason that Jokic and the Nuggets step back from the negotiating table, and the timing — days before the free-agency window opens June 30 — guarantees it dominates the conversation around Denver.
For most franchises, a superstar declining to lock in long-term would set off alarms. With Jokic, the picture is more complicated, and the reporting suggests both sides are comfortable letting it sit.
What Stein and Fischer reported
Jokic told the Nuggets last offseason that he wanted to wait a year before signing an extension, and a year later, the two sides are leaning toward the same approach, per Stein and Fischer. Stein and Fischer reported that Jokic feels no urgency to rush the deal, since a comparable contract should still be on the table next summer.
None of that, by the reporting, signals that Jokic is angling for the exit. He has said repeatedly that he intends to finish his career in Denver, a stance he reaffirmed after the season ended in Minneapolis.
“I still want to be a Nugget forever,” Jokic said.
The front office has tried to keep the temperature low. Asked about Jokic’s situation after the draft, Nuggets executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer pointed to league rules limiting what the team can say, but added that Denver feels “really comfortable” about where the relationship stands.
Why waiting barely costs Jokic anything
The reason this can stay low-stakes is the math. Jokic is signed for one more season at roughly $59 million, with a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. He turned down a three-year extension last summer for a straightforward reason: by waiting, he became eligible this July to add four new years instead of three.
That four-year extension projects to around $278 million at the salary cap’s current growth rate, Spotrac’s Keith Smith told the Denver Gazette, a number that climbs toward $290 million if the cap rises faster. Either way, the deal would pay Jokic roughly $70 million per season and run through 2030-31, ranking among the richest contracts in the league. Smith noted that the difference between signing now and waiting one more year would amount to less than $1 million annually — a rounding error for a player who has already earned more than $300 million in his career.
In other words, there is no financial penalty pushing Jokic to commit this week. The leverage runs the other way, and Denver knows it.
The real story is what Denver does next
The extension headline may matter less than what Stein and Fischer reported alongside it: The Nuggets are “actively pursuing trades” to upgrade the roster around their cornerstone. The motivation, per the report, is keeping pace with the Western Conference’s rising powers — the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves team that just bounced Denver in the first round.
Part of that work is financial. Denver wants the flexibility to match any offer sheet for restricted free-agent forward Peyton Watson, and while the team is confident it can keep him, Stein and Fischer reported a growing expectation that at least one rotation regular gets moved to make it work. Veterans Jonas Valanciunas and possibly Tim Hardaway Jr. are increasingly anticipated to play elsewhere next season, and Aaron Gordon is generating trade interest — though the Nuggets would reportedly prefer to move Cam Johnson or Christian Braun if a deal becomes necessary.
That is the through-line connecting the two reports. Jokic does not need to sign today, and Denver would rather spend this window proving it can build a contender than securing a signature it expects to get eventually. The roster he sees over the next few weeks may matter more to him than any number on a contract.
Should Denver be worried?
The honest answer is that a little discomfort might be the point. Jokic has never publicly pushed to leave, and any trade chatter involving him has been outside speculation rather than reporting. But the league just watched Giannis Antetokounmpo — another homegrown MVP who insisted for years he wanted to stay — get traded to the Miami Heat, a reminder that no situation is permanent.
Jokic’s resume only sharpens the stakes. He is an eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA selection and the 2023 champion and Finals MVP, and last season, he averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game while leading the league in both rebounding and assists per game, per Basketball-Reference.
He finished second in MVP voting to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his sixth straight top-two finish. Losing a player of that caliber over money the franchise can clearly afford would be a historic miscalculation, which is why the extension itself reads as a formality whenever Jokic decides to sign it.
The subtext is the clock. Two summers of waiting pushes Jokic closer to a 2027 free agency that would let the rest of the league dream, and it keeps the pressure on a front office that just paid a steep luxury-tax bill for an early playoff exit. For now, the reporting points to patience on both sides rather than a standoff. With the negotiating window days away and Denver hunting for upgrades, the most important number this summer might not be Jokic’s salary — it’s how much better the Nuggets can make the team in front of him.
