Nikola Jokic's Future With Nuggets Could Reportedly Be in Jeopardy

Fans of the Denver Nuggets have spent this week talking about a remark from a Bay Area podcast, even though the show was not about Denver in the first place.

Bay Area columnist Tim Kawakami was talking about the Golden State Warriors on his podcast, The TK Show, when the future of center Nikola Jokic came up.

Kawakami told his guest on the Nov. 4 episode of The TK Show that he has been hearing for a little while that the situation is open, and he went on to say, "He's very likely to go back to Denver, but it's an open thing. There's nothing guaranteed about him going back to sign a long extension with Denver."

Kawakami is right on paper that nothing is guaranteed, because Jokic has not signed anything.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported in July that Jokic chose to hold off on an extension for the second straight offseason, and that he is under contract for two seasons with a player option on the last one.

ESPN also reported that waiting until the 2027 offseason lets him sign a longer and larger deal, and a team source told ESPN that the Nuggets understand the delay to be about money.

Jokic told reporters in July, as reported by ESPN, that his desire is to stay in Denver, and the Associated Press reported that he repeated his pledge to sign next summer at media day in September.

The Associated Press also reported that executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer said at media day that the team has no concerns, and Nuggets executive Jon Wallace stayed optimistic about the contract situation back in July, when he said on an ESPN Summer League broadcast that the team feels confident.

Kawakami's words got this much attention because Denver has not looked like a contender yet.

The Nuggets are 5-4 and sit 10th in the Western Conference after a 110-100 loss in Houston on Monday, a game that left head coach David Adelman wanting more aggressiveness from the offense.

Waiting leaves a chance that Jokic could exit if the team struggles.

Jokic has said in public more than once that he wants to stay, and ESPN reported that he can sign a larger contract by waiting, so holding off is what a player who plans to stay would do.

Jokic had 25 points and 16 rebounds in Houston while guard Jamal Murray scored 38, so the two stars are not the problem.

The pressure is on the Nuggets to build a winner around him, with a visit to Memphis on Wednesday up next.

I would not panic in November over one line on a podcast about the Warriors, but if Denver is still sitting 10th in the spring, the worry will be fair.