Any concerns that the Denver Nuggets’ late-season coaching and front-office upheaval would have a negative impact on Nikola Jokić’s future with the organization have been squashed, as the three-time NBA MVPmade it clear on Monday that he intends to be with the franchise for the rest of his career.
.”My plan is to be a Nugget forever,” Jokić told reporters.
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reported in July that Jokic would not seek a contract extension this offseason. He is currently eligible to sign a three-year, $200 million extension until Oct. 20. By waiting until next year, he can reportedly add a fourth year to the deal for an additional $77 million.
Following a disappointing Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 playoffs, the Nuggets began the summer by trading Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 unprotected first-round draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson.
Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Nuggets’ financial savings from moving off Porter’s contract gave them most of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception to use:
Jokić currently has two more guaranteed years plus a player option for 2027-28 remaining on the five-year, $276.1 million deal that was signed in July 2022.
This summer was going to be huge for the Nuggets’ future. They made the surprise decision to fire head coach Michael Malone and said general manager Calvin Booth wouldn’t return next season in an announcement on April 8.
Malone was the only coach Jokić had ever played for in his NBA career prior to his dismissal.
Even though this level of apparent disarray would normally signal bad news for a franchise trying to keep a superstar player, there hasn’t been much concern that Jokić was seeking a way out of Denver.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne reported on April 11 the “assumption” from people around the NBA was that Jokić would extend his contract.
Jokić may not have had as big a problem with the Nuggets’ decision to fire Malone as one might have assumed when it happened. The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Tony Jones noted several players, including Jokić, had “frustrated and fatigued by Malone’s fiery ways.”
Denver did respond well in the postseason under interim head coach David Adelman. He led the team to a seven-game win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round and took the eventual-NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder to seven gamesin the Western Conference semifinals.
The Nuggets are hoping Adelman, who was promoted to the full-time job after finishing the season as the interim,will be able to stabilize things for the organization going forward. He’s walking into a great situation with Jokić being arguably the best player in the league and still very much in his prime at 30 years old.
Jokić became the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a full season. The seven-time All-Star averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game in 70starts during the 2024-25 campaign.
Jamal Murray’s health will be a key factor that determines how high Denver’s ceiling is going to be next season. This past season marked the first time since 2018-19 he played more than 65 games in the regular season.
The good news for Denver is that Jokić appears committed to the franchise long term.
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