Reports: Nuggets' Nikola Jokic to wait until next summer for contract talks

Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, eligible as of Tuesday for a contract extension, will wait until next summer to negotiate a new deal, the Denver Post and ESPN reported.

A three-time MVP, Jokic is eligible for a three-year, $206.4 million contract extension, which Nuggets management has publicly said it would offer. However, the center could wait for a max contract worth $285.4 million if he signs next summer.

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, $276 million extension he signed in the summer of 2022. The final season, 2027-28, is a player option valued at $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 $77 million, per ESPN.

Contract negotiations could be shaped by factors such as salary-cap raises and incentives, but once next season starts, the contract cannot be extended 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 honors in the 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons and has been a top-2 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 playoff 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 honors.

--Field Level Media