Nikola Jokic Reportedly Never Gave Nuggets Indication He'd Want Trade amid NBA Rumors
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić was eligible for a three-year, $207 million extension this offseason, but he declined the opportunity to sign that offer, per Bennett Durando of the Denver Post last July. Jokić can wait until the 2026 offseason to sign a deal that would add one more season and $80 million to his contract.
Ultimately, there doesn't seem to be any indication Jokić would want out of Denver based on his decision against signing the extension this offseason, and NBA analyst Zach Lowe made that even more clear in comments on the latest edition of his podcast Monday (23:06 mark).
"Nobody in Denver batted an eye that I heard, privately or publicly, when Jokic said, 'You know what? It doesn't make sense for me financially to do it this summer. Let's revisit it next summer,'" Lowe said (h/t RealGM).
"There's never even been a whisper through coaching changes at the last minute, through roster turmoil, through losing core guys because of tax issues and whatever, through Calvin Booth getting fired at the end of the season, through all that. There has never been a whisper of like this guy wants to go to a different team."
Durando reported on talks that Jokić and his camp had with the Nuggets, who spoke about the big man's financial options.
"The Nuggets presented both options to Jokić in conversations with him and his representation. Jokić's camp elected to delay — a decision that Nuggets leadership was anticipating because of the money on the table, team sources said," per Durando. "If Jokić signs his max extension next summer, he would be under contract until 2031, when he'll be 36 years old."
There was a recent report from Sam Amick of The Athletic regarding the Golden State Warriors looking to keep their books clear for 2027 in case Jokić (or fellow Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo) was available. Of note, both superstars have player options for 2027-28. It also appears the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers have their eyes on that offseason.
"[The Warriors] want to maintain maximum flexibility for that 2027 summer (as it stands, they only have [Moses] Moody's $13.4 million and [Buddy] Hield's $10 million player option on the books by then)," Amick wrote. "The Warriors, who are well aware that Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver's Nikola Jokić both have player options for the 2027-28 season, are hardly alone on this star-hunting front.
"High-profile teams like the Lakers and Clippers have sent similar signals in recent months."
However, this obviously isn't a report that Jokić was looking to leave (the same goes for Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee). Lowe further clarified on his podcast there isn't drama in Denver.
"There's the joke whispers about could he just retire and go back to Sombor and be a horse guy, like whatever, maybe. There's never been a whisper, and so we skirted past it.
"But you just have to flag it that if we get to next summer, it then becomes a little bit of an issue. But all the fans of teams whose guys are constantly in trade rumors, like the [Milwaukee] Bucks, are justifiably like, 'Why don't you ever mention [Jokic]? Why is there no panic about that?' And it's because there isn't any panic about it. I haven't heard any panic about it. I haven't heard anything from his agency indicating that he's upset about X, Y, and Z and would ask for a trade. Who knows what's possible, but that's all I heard."
In fact, Jokić seems happy with Denver's offseason moves, per comments that ESPN's Brian Windhorst made on his Hoop Collective podcast last July (30:03 mark).
"The Nuggets have their new backcourt, and I was told that—and Mr. Jokić has not spoken on the record at least in English about this that I've seen—but I was told through secondhand that Jokic was very pleased with the Nuggets' moves," Windhorst said.
The big pieces include trading Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson, adding center Jonas Valančiūnas from the Sacramento Kings for Dario Šarić and signing free agents Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown Jr., who was Denver's sixth man on the 2022-23 NBA championship squad.
So there's a lot to discuss on Jokić's contract next year. For now, though, the three-time NBA MVP is looking to keep Denver in championship contention. Jokić himself had a great individual year, averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game.
Denver had a rocky season, though, and even fired head coach Mike Malone near the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Interim head coach David Adelman took over and led the 50-win Nuggets to the second round of the playoffs, where the Western Conference's No. 4 seed pushed NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games. However, OKC prevailed en route to the NBA title.
Jokić and the Nuggets will begin this season on Oct. 23 at the Golden State Warriors.
