LeBron James<\/a> exploring free agency reopened the idea of him joining Jokic in Denver, and on paper the fit works. He’d slide in as a third or fourth scoring option behind Aaron Gordon, leaning into more of a playmaking role than he’s had in years. But the Nuggets have reportedly fallen out of insiders’ top five projected landing spots for him, even as LeBron’s camp, led by agent Rich Paul, hasn’t ruled anyone out publicly. Josh Kroenke’s relationship with LeBron is still floated as a factor that could keep Denver in the mix.<\/p>\nWhat ESPN insiders are saying<\/p>\n
ESPN’s Bobby Marks has been the most vocal skeptic of Denver’s offseason, questioning the roster’s ceiling given the moves made so far. “They’re basically the same team, right?” Marks said, pointing to the unresolved Watson situation as part of that stagnation. Brian Windhorst summed up his own read on Jokic’s public commitment in three words: “Actions over words.”Nuggets president Josh Kroenke has said the front office will present Jokic an extension this summer. “We’re definitely going to offer it,” Kroenke told reporters, while acknowledging the financial upside for Jokic in waiting. Jokic himself has been direct about his intentions, telling Serbian reporters, “My wish is to stay and play for Denver the rest of my career.”<\/p>\n
Where this leaves Denver<\/p>\n
Jokic holds a player option for 2027-28, which means his word is the only real guarantee Denver has right now. If the front office can’t show meaningful improvement by the time that decision comes around, the extension conversation could look very different than it does today.Bottom line: Denver’s window to prove itself to Jokic is next season, not this contract deadline. The roster moves so far haven’t changed the ceiling, Watson’s future is still unresolved, and LeBron looks increasingly unlikely. If the Nuggets take another first-round exit, “next summer” stops being a formality and starts being a real decision point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets. Image via: Nuggets Nikola Jokic has turned down a contract extension for the second straight offseason,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[95904,7,2726,4677,301,187,3943,185,95903,6,1783,253,302,1146],"class_list":["post-794332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-nuggets","tag-2027-player-option","tag-basketball","tag-cameron-johnson","tag-contract-extension","tag-denver","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-denvernuggets","tag-lebron-james","tag-luxury-tax-bill","tag-nba","tag-nba-trade-rumors","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-nuggets","tag-peyton-watson"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116972712625360360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"NBA](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/denver-nuggets.jpg\" "\\"Denver")
Denver Nuggets. Image via: Nuggets Nikola Jokic has turned down a contract extension for the second straight offseason, and the Denver Nuggets are running out of easy explanations for it. The three-time MVP passed on a three-year, $200 million extension in 2025, then walked away from a four-year, $278 million offer on June 14. He says he still wants to retire in Denver. Not everyone around the league is convinced that’s how this plays out.The timing matters. Jokic’s holdout stacks on top of an unresolved Peyton Watson restricted free agency situation and a summer where Denver’s biggest outside addition has been Marvin Bagley III. With LaMelo Ball landing in Minnesota and the Lakers reloading around Luka Doncic, the gap between Denver and the West’s top tier looks wider than it did a year ago. That gap is exactly why the extension delay has scouts and analysts paying closer attention than usual.CategoryPlayerCurrent teamContract statusCap\/tax noteLatest updateExtension standoffNikola JokicDenver Nuggets3 years left on 2022 extension; player option 2027-28Waiting adds a 4th year and roughly $77 million, per MarksDeclined the $278M offer on June 14; says he’ll sign next summerRestricted free agentPeyton WatsonDenver NuggetsUnsigned RFA after a career-best 2025-26Meeting his reported $25M\/year ask pushes Denver to a $177M tax bill, even after waiving Jonas ValanciunasStill unresolved; seen as a factor in Denver holding Cam JohnsonTrade chip\/leverageCameron JohnsonDenver NuggetsUnder contractViewed as an expiring deal useful for Jokic’s future extension mathNot specified in brief whether a move is imminentFree agent targetLeBron JamesUnsigned free agentExploring the open marketNot specified in briefReported to have dropped out of insiders’ top five landing spots for Denver<\/p>\n![\"Nikola](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nikola-jokic.jpg\" "\\"Nikola")
<\/p>\n![\"LeBron](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784861843_147_lebron-james.jpg\" "\\"LeBron")
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