Superstar center Nikola Jokić is expected to sign a massive extension with the Denver Nuggets this offseason, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Jokić has two years and $121.9 million remaining on his contract, but the second season is a player option, meaning the future Hall of Famer is under team control only through next season. Jokic will be extension eligible this summer for up to four years and around $278 million.
Charania also reports that the Nuggets will keep head coach David Adelman and could make “real roster changes” this summer.
“David Adelman, their head coach, he is going to be back,” Charania said. “His job is safe. The second order of business for the Nuggets this offseason is securing a long-term commitment from Nikola Jokić. He’s eligible for a contract extension. The expectation on both sides is Nikola Jokić will be signing that when he’s eligible in July and they’re gonna move forward, but beyond that, there’s going to be real roster changes coming to Denver to identify how they can surround Nikola Jokić with the right pieces to get this team over the top.”
The Nuggets won the 2023 championship against the Miami Heat in five games. Since then, they have lost in the second round of the playoffs twice and the first round once.
Denver lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year’s playoffs in six games. Jokić averaged 25.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game in the Timberwolves series while shooting 44.6% from the field, an atrocious 19.4% from beyond the arc and 93.0% from the free-throw line. He had 23 turnovers in six games.
An eight-time All-Star and three-time MVP, Jokić finished the regular season averaging 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. He’s an MVP finalist.
When a reporter asked Jokić after the Timberwolves series if the Nuggets need to make roster changes this offseason, the big man said, “That’s not my decision to be honest. Definitely if we were in Serbia, we would all get fired.”
Jokić has been in the NBA since 2015. He holds career averages of 22.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.
Jokić’s supporting cast is Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun. It will be intriguing to see if the Nuggets make any big trades this summer.
