Nikola Jokic Will Sign Next Summer, 'If They Want Me'

Nikola Jokic knows Nuggets fans are nervous. He said Monday that they don't need to be. The three-time MVP again promised to sign a long-term extension with Denver next summer, then added a joke: "If they want me."

The reason for the wait is money. Next summer Jokic becomes eligible for a five-year supermax worth around $350 million. The risk for Denver is that a player who waits always has the option of leaving, especially if the season goes badly.

"I've been more than open about it. Hopefully, they trust me," Jokic said.

He wants to stay for the same reason Stephen Curry just did in Golden State. "For me, it's legacy," said Jokic, 31, a 2014 second-round pick who won Denver's first title in 2023. "You want to be legendary, and you want to be remembered."

The front office isn't worried either. Asked about a slow start, basketball operations chief Ben Tenzer gave the same answer twice: "We have no concerns."

Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists last season and finished second to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in MVP voting. Denver won 54 games as the No. 3 seed and then lost to Minnesota in the first round, which coach David Adelman called "a horror story" caused by injuries and a "bad 10 days."

Christian Braun (ankle) and Aaron Gordon (soft-tissue issues) say they're healthy. The Nuggets lost Peyton Watson in a five-team trade but added 37-year-old DeMar DeRozan, who's still chasing his first ring. "When you have the best player in the world," DeRozan said, "anything's possible."