Nuggets' Nikola Jokic trade rumors are officially here for contract reason

Nuggets' Nikola Jokic trade rumors are officially here for contract reason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Nikola Jokic trade speculation has arrived.

He can say all he wants about wanting to remain with the Denver Nuggets, but his contract will have rumors starting from every corner of the NBA trade machine.

Why? Because Jokic can leave his contract after the 2026-27 season. He has a player option for 2027-28, but generally a player of his level will opt-out to sign a new, larger deal, even if it's to stay with the same team.

But that means Jokic could also opt-out after next season to pursue a new opportunity elsewhere, which brings the Nuggets to one of those impossible decision points for a team with an all-time great player.

Do you ride it out to the end of the deal, chasing one more title, even if Jokic might then leave for no return next offseason? Or do you consider a trade, one that would return immense value, while also essentially pulling the plug on the Jokic era a year early?

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Jokic definitely has a lot of say here. If he genuinely tells the Nuggets he doesn't want to leave, they'll probably allow that to stand. If anything, they would then look to make trades in the other direction.

Would the best move actually be to trade Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon to try and build a different-look team around Jokic? These Nuggets have remained quite similar in recent years.