On May 1, Beijing time, Tim Connery, president of Nuggets basketball operations, made it clear in an interview: "The most important thing for the team this summer is to complete an early contract extension with Jokic. At present, the teacher has returned to Serbia. Talking about his hope of signing a super salary, Mr. Yo said: "If the contract is on the table, of course I will accept it." ”
The current contract for teachers is $147 million for 5 years, which expires in the summer of 2023. So the question arises: How big a contract can he sign? According to salary expert Bobby Marks, this summer Jokic is eligible to sign a five-year, $254 million super-maximum contract with the Nuggets, the largest contract in NBA history.
The contract will be executed from the 2023-24 season with a starting salary of $43.8 million a year; the final year will be as high as $57.8 million (2027-28), when the teacher will be 33 years old. At present, the largest single contract in the NBA is $228 million for 5 years of Alphabet Brother, and once the teacher is renewed, he will break the historical record!
Although the Nuggets were eliminated 4-1 by the Warriors in the playoffs, Jokic has done everything he can. Murray didn't play all season, Michael Porter Jr. only played 9 games to be reimbursed for the season, and there was really no one around The Teacher. Throughout the series, Jokic averaged 31 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, shooting 57.5 percent from the field.
Only three centers in NBA history have averaged at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game in a single series, the other two being Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar (1974) and Olajuwon, who made it twice in the 1995 playoffs. In addition, Mr. Yo shot more than 60 percent in three consecutive games, becoming the second player to do it in the playoffs after James in 2020.
Throughout his career, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 11.5 boards, 6.4 assists, 1 steal, 0.9 blocks per game in the playoffs, shooting 51.9 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from three-point range and 84.1 percent from the free throw line. He averaged 19.7 points, 10.4 boards, 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in the regular season, shooting 54.2 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from three-point range and 83 percent from the free throw line.
Fans are used to asking the teacher to take 30+10+5, and many people may forget that he is just a second-round show. In the 2014 NBA Draft, Wiggins became the first pick, Jabari Parker was on the list, and Embiid was on the list. Jokic was not selected until the 41st pick, with Glenn Robinson III going with the 40th pick and Nick Johnson with the 42nd pick.
The Nuggets scored two interior lines in the 2014 draft, and in addition to Jokic, they also signed Nurkic with the no. 16 pick in the first round. After playing two and a half seasons, in February 2017, Nuggets management sent Nurkic to the Blazers to fully develop Jokic. As it turns out, the Nuggets' decision was so wise!
Now the Nuggets have a rookie of the Class of 2014 on the roster, and he is No. 4 Aaron Gordon. In this year's playoffs, Gordon played 32 minutes, with 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.6 turnovers, 42.6% shooting, and only 20% three-point shooting rate (averaging 3 shots per game).
The Nuggets' team ranks eighth in the NBA in terms of total salary this season and is expected to be in the top five next season. Take a look at the Nuggets' current big contracts: Jokic $147 million for 5 years, Murray 170 million for 5 years, Porter Jr. for 5 years for 173 million, and Gordon 4 years for 87 million. Next season the salaries of these four people will reach $115 million...
In the 2019-20 season, Jokic and Murray led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals, but were eliminated by the Lakers and missed the Finals. In the 2020-21 season, Murray was sidelined due to injury and the Nuggets were swept by the Suns in the Western Conference semifinals. Murray and Porter Jr. couldn't play this season, and the Nuggets stopped in the first round! How far do you think the Nuggets' current roster will go next season?