Media Day Talk Turns to Jokic's Next Contract, Not His Next Lineup
Denver arrives at media day with its passing core untouched, but the day's biggest story is about a contract, not a rotation.
The Athletic reported that a potential Nikola Jokic extension looms over Nuggets media day, even as the roster around him has been set for three days. Denver's next basketball question is smaller and more mechanical: whether the newest additions can hold spacing next to a five-man group that hasn't taken the floor yet this season.
What today's media-day preview signals
Today's preview from The Athletic said a possible Jokic extension will hang over every media-day question, ahead of any roster talk. That framing tells its own story: after a week that added Emanuel Miller, Coleman Hawkins and Dane Goodwin, and shed Boopie Miller, Keonte Jones and Reese Dixon-Waters within days of arriving, Denver's front office has apparently decided the fringe roster is set. The bigger conversation now runs through the two names who were never in question.
The unresolved thread: Aaron Gordon
Gordon's official designation cycled three times in a single day on September 13 - day-to-day, then fully cleared, then back to day-to-day - and a September 19 report on camp questions left it unresolved. He played 36 games last season, averaging 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds when healthy, exactly the kind of connective, cutting frontcourt partner Jokic's passing has always rewarded. Denver opens camp without knowing if that partnership starts the year at full strength.
One number, one date
Denver's payroll runs $221.1 million across its roster, above the $200.4 million luxury-tax line, anchored by Jokic's $59.0 million and Murray's $50.1 million. The preseason opens October 4 against the Jazz, four trips before the regular-season opener October 22 at Oklahoma City on ESPN - the club that eliminated Denver in the second round of the 2025 playoffs.
What's left to answer
Trevon Brazile is day-to-day with an undisclosed issue, expected back around October 1, the only injury note on the roster right now. Everything else - the passing chemistry, the new frontcourt bodies, the extension question itself - waits for actual games. Denver hasn't taken the floor yet; every number attached to this roster still belongs to last season.
Is Nikola Jokic signing a contract extension with the Nuggets?
No deal has been reported. The Athletic said only that the topic is expected to loom over Nuggets media day on September 28, 2026.
Is Aaron Gordon healthy for training camp?
His status is unresolved: it moved from day-to-day to fully cleared and then back to day-to-day on September 13, and a September 19 report did not clarify it further.
