The NBA’s financial and salary cap structure often creates interesting decisions for teams across the league. One such decision arrives with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets this summer, with the team holding an option to pay their best player just $1.6 million for the 2018-19 season.
Jokic, however, would reach unrestricted free agency at the completion of that very cheap option for the upcoming campaign and, to avoid that potentially dangerous situation, the Nuggets have reportedly declined it in favor of a massive, five-year commitment.
Yahoo’s Shams Charania reported on Monday that the Nuggets will not pick up their team option on Jokic and instead hope to lock the big up long-term.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic will have his team option declined for next season to become RFA, and sides plan to reach agreement on a five-year, $146.5M maximum contract, league sources told Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2018
Charania reported the sides are close on the specifics of the deal, and that they’ve discussed Jokic’s future at length in recent weeks.
On the surface, paying Jokic the maximum amount allowed under the CBA is a no-brainer, simply because he has already performed at a star level and will not be even 24 years old until February. There are complications here, however, even if they clearly did not outweigh the desire to keep Jokic under team control for the longest possible time.
Denver’s salary cap management has not been perfect in recent years and, as a result, the team has four players making more than $7 million each for the 2018-19 season that aren’t seen as vital to the team’s on-court efforts. Reports have linked the Nuggets to various pursuits when it comes to escaping Kenneth Faried’s $13.7 million salary for next season and Denver also has one-year commitments to Wilson Chandler ($12.8 million on a player option) and Darrell Arthur ($7.4 million) that aren’t exactly favorable to the team.
Beyond that, Mason Plumlee is set to earn $12.9 million next season and another $14 million in 2019-20, despite operating as a pure backup big man at this stage. For some teams around the league the potential luxury cap penalties associated with “bringing the band back” would not be a problem, but whispers exist that the Nuggets have little intention of incurring a big-time financial hit through the tax. That could lead to a scenario in which the team uses future-facing assets to shed current commitments.
Having Nikola Jokic around for the next five seasons is, without question, a good thing for the Nuggets. This move does, however, create some uncertainty with parts of the roster and Denver’s moves in the coming weeks will be intriguing as a result.
