Nikola Jokic is one of the examples of an NBA player worth more than the salary cap rules will allow him to be paid.
The Athletic's John Hollinger posits that Jokic is worth "double this" of his pending contract extension.
As of July 8, Hollinger writes, Jokic will be eligible to sign a three-year deal worth $208 million.
"This isn’t a question of value, obviously; Jokić might be worth double this in an unconstrained marketplace," Hollinger writes. "Instead, the only real drama is whether Jokić would be willing to sign now, or if he’d rather wait until next summer and sign a four-year max extension. Either way, it surely will contain a player option, a 15 percent trade bonus and whatever other cap-legal bells and whistles Jokić wants. Logic probably dictates Jokić sign now because it starts the clock sooner on when he can sign his next extension, three years from now. By then, he’d be 33 but probably still one of the best players in the league and could lock himself in until his late 30s."
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If Jokic happens not to sign this extension sooner rather than later, it could point to a bit of disconnect.
There are already some wild theories swirling around the Internet wondering whether Jokic could try to team up with Luka Doncic in a few years.
The NBA's contract structure still favors the Nuggets keeping Jokic around, because they can pay him more than any outside team.
But given that Jokic can be considered a value even at a big payday, lots of teams would surely want him if he asked out.
It'll be a situation worth watching over the years ahead.
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