Is three-time MVP Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic’s future with the only franchise he’s ever known now in jeopardy?
The 6-foot-11 big man has opted not to ink a veteran extension with the franchise, per The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. Jokic will instead engage in conversations on that front next summer.
An anonymous Denver front office executive told Keith Smith of Spotrac that the club’s newly reconstituted brain trust, led by executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer and executive vice president of player personnel Jon Wallace, had full confidence in its ability to retain the 2023 Finals MVP.
Finished emptying out my Summer League notebook for @spotrac. Notes from conversations with NBA executives, coaches and scouts on all 15 Western Conference teams. Notes on rookies, Summer League, offseason moves, NBA Draft and NBA expansion too!
Read more:https://t.co/nQS2cqm2ip— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 22, 2025
“No worry at all,” the executive claimed. “It’s the smart move from his side, if I’m being honest. He can lock in an extra year next year, which is the way to do it when you are in his position. Same offer, plus one more year, will be there for him a year now from now. He knows that, and we’re all on the same page.”
READ MORE: Western Conference team cited as best fit for former Nuggets guard
At present, the seven-time All-Star is heading into the third season of a five-year, $276.1 million designated veteran contract extension. He has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28.
Jokic submitted his most remarkable individual season yet, statistically, in 2024-25.
Across 70 healthy regular season bouts last year for the 50-32 Nuggets, Jokic averaged 29.6 points on .576/.417/.800 shooting splits, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists, making him the first-ever center to average a tripel-double over the course of a full NBA season.
But Denver, struggling through injuries to starting forwards Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon without enough depth, fell in a seven-game second-round playoff matchup against the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Understandably, the Nuggets made some major personnel pivots this summer, flipping Porter to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson — a cheaper, better two-way talent — acquiring center Jonas Valanciunas, and signing free agent guards Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.
Second-year forward DaRon Holmes II, who missed all of what would have been his rookie season in 2024-25 while recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon, is also slated to return to the floor and make his official Nuggets debut in 2025-26..
“We had to get deeper. That was clear to us as far back as the trade deadline,” a Nuggets front office executive said. “We’ll have DaRon (Holmes II) this year, which is going to be huge. But adding Cam (Johnson), Jonas (Valanciunas), Tim (Hardaway Jr.) and bringing Bruce (Brown) home, are huge for us. And we still like our younger guys too. The pressure is just off them a bit to have to be great every night.”
READ MORE: NBA executive predicts breakout season for ex-Nuggets forward
