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Lakers’ boldest plan suddenly looks dangerous after Nikola Jokic bombshell

Will the Los Angeles Lakers' masterplan work out in the long run?
BySvyatoslav Rovenchuk|
Jan 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (left) talks with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (right) after the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jan 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (left) talks with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (right) after the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers have been criticized and even ridiculed for their approach to maintaining roster flexibility in hopes of positioning themselves for a free-agency splash in the future. The news of Nikola Jokic not presently working on a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets does offer vindication to that approach.

Bennett Durando of The Denver Post wrote, "Nikola Jokic has informed the Nuggets he will not sign a contract extension this offseason, team sources told The Denver Post, as the three-time MVP intends to wait until next summer to engage in contract talks."

Durando mentioned that Tuesday would have been the first opportunity for Jokic to sign an extension that would have been as large as three years and $212 million. However, the writer highlighted that pushing the decision to 2026 allows Jokic to earn 'an additional $80 million.'

In all fairness, this was 'a decision that Nuggets leadership was anticipating because of the money' according to the team sources of Durando. That should not stop rival teams like the Lakers from looking at the situation like hungry hyenas.

Superstars arrive come to Los Angeles in pairs

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic?

Superstars tend to travel to the Lakers in pairs, even if it takes one of the two a little bit of time to catch up to the other. Perhaps this offers an explanation to why Dave McMenamin reported earlier this offseason that Los Angeles was prioritizing 2027.

Jokic's current deal has two more guaranteed years left on it before a player option in 2027-28 could make him a free agent in the summer of 2027. Is this the masterplan in Los Angeles?

The friendship with Doncic would certainly give the Lakers reason to believe a union between the two is not entirely impossible. However, the strategy of pursuing Jokic in free agency ignores the present circumstances of what has been happening around the league.

The current NBA CBA has dimmed the excitement and team-building potential that free agency offers. Furthermore, as pointed out by Durando, it has also made reupping with a franchise the far more lucrative financial decision.

A revamped front office in Denver has also been incredibly aggressive and savvy to start the offseason, bolstering the team around Jokic. There are not a lot of obvious reasons for the Nuggets center to strongly desire a departure from his current environment presently.

Granted, two years is a lot of time. Many things can change between now and the 2027 offseason. One of those things could be whether Jokic is even available to begin with. However, the optimistic lens in Los Angeles would hope the change comes from the jersey worn by the Serbian superstar.

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