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With Nikola Jokic's extension status playing a key role, the franchise has become a team many are closely monitoring, according to NBA insider Marc Stein on the DNVR Nuggets Podcast. "There are a lot of eyeballs on the Denver Nuggets right now league-wide," Stein revealed. "There is a lot of curiosity about where this team is going and, let's face it, [Nikola] Jokic could have signed an extension for the second straight summer and did not. And even if that is 1,000% motivated by the finances involved, it's still going to get other teams whispering, monitoring — you know, pick your adjective — but this is going to be a topic.
Tommy Beer: Most points in the clutch in the playoffs over the past three years combined: 1. Jalen Brunson: 143 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 84 3. Tyrese Haliburton: 48 4. Anthony Edwards: 43 5. Nikola Jokic: 36 6. Cade Cunningham: 35
BasketNews: Nikola Jokic's horse wins the top horse race in Serbia 🏆🇷🇸
Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic's horse wins the top Serbian race 🏆 🎥 X/arenasport_tv
Nikola's horse wins the top Serbian race 🏆 🎥 X/arenasport_tv
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets.bsky.social) 2026-07-27T19:03:12.746Z
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Grant Hill: 'Contrary to popular belief, I do like Jaylen Brown. I love his game, and things got difficult there with that team. In putting the team together, just to give some context, we had Kawhi Leonard on that penciled in on that team, and he got hurt at the end of that season in 2024. He came to camp, he wasn't right, and so we had to pivot. A couple of things happened at that camp, and people want to believe what they want to believe, but at the end of the day, Kevin Durant showed up, he was hurt. He had a grade one calf strain, and I think we all have PTSD from the last time he had a calf strain, so we were very patient with him. Jayson Tatum had just had a baby, so he showed up late. Joel Embiid was, you know, we knew we were managing him, but we needed him for Nikola Jokic against Serbia, because that was the matchup. We didn't have our full roster, and then we started looking around and saying, oh man, like Jrue Holiday was so important for us in the FIBA game. A point guard who can play his role, ball pressure, the whole nine. If Jrue got hurt, our point guards were Jrue Holiday and Stephen Curry, and defense wasn't necessarily their strong point. It was like, okay, let's bring in insurance for Jrue Holiday and like Derrick White. So that was the thought process.'
Bobby Marks on Nikola Jokic: 'The Jokic one is fascinating. For me it's interesting, and I know he's come out and said that Denver is where he's going to be and all that and he's going to sign next year, but man, I'm just looking at their roster, what they've done or really haven't done this off-season, and going into next year, they're the same team and they still have the Peyton Watson situation to figure out here." Vince Goodwill: What's your favorite phrase, Windy? Brian Windhorst: Actions over words. Goodwill: There we go.'
Bennett Durando: On ESPN’s Summer League broadcast, Jon Wallace sums it up pretty succinctly when asked about Nikola Jokic’s decision to delay signing extension until next summer: “We feel confident. We trust him. … We’ve got no choice but to.”
Yet as league sources close to Jokić explained, he wants to wait on his next contract to add another year of max money (approximately $80 million) to his deal. He has one guaranteed season left on his contract, with a player option worth $62.8 million for the 2027-28 season.
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A five-year deal with the Nuggets signed a year from now would run through the 2031-32 campaign, with Jokić turning 37 years old midway through the final season. Per sources, the chance to get that sort of payday in his late 30s is a significant factor in this decision.
Bennett Durando: “My idea is to sign next summer and stay in Denver for the rest of my life (career).” Nuggets have remained bullish recently that Jokic doesn’t plan on going anywhere, per team sources. This move allows him to opt out next summer and sign through 2032 instead of ‘31, I’m told.
DNVR Nuggets: Nikola Jokic: "My idea is to sign next summer and stay with Denver for the rest of my career." 📽️ @LjubomirovicM
Fullcourtpass: Nikola Jokic spent his day at the racetrack 🐎 (Via @arenasport_tv)
