The Nuggets are back. Players and coaches are reporting to Ball Arena for a series of news conferences on Monday, followed by four days of training camp at their usual base in San Diego. As their 2025-26 season unofficially begins with the media day festivities, here are five major storylines surrounding the team.
1. Nikola Jokic’s contract extension talks on pause
Jokic elected not to sign the $207 million deal available to him this summer, preferring to wait for the 2026 offseason to resume contract “negotiations” (if they can be called that) with Denver. His decision to wait was financially motivated. The Nuggets are allowed to offer him an extra year next summer — AKA an extra $80 million, give or take.
But that hasn’t stopped rival executives from getting ideas. As Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote, the Warriors, Clippers and Lakers are prioritizing salary cap flexibility with their eyes on the 2027 offseason because superstars such as Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo have player options that year.
Pipe dream? Probably. But this is how the NBA works. When there’s even an ounce of uncertainty about the future of a player who was recently voted best in the world by 19 of 20 anonymously surveyed NBA executives (via ESPN), the sharks begin to circle. Behind the scenes, Denver remains highly confident Jokic isn’t going anywhere. If Jokic feels equally definitive, he can pour cold water on the circus of speculation himself by saying he plans to sign the Nuggets’ offer next year. It would lock him under contract until he’s 36.
2. Jonas Valanciunas’s state of mind
Like Jokic, Denver’s new backup center has been in Europe all summer, suiting up for the Lithuanian national team. Valanciunas told reporters overseas in July that he was “fully committed” to playing for the Nuggets after a lucrative contract offer from the Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos fizzled out. It would’ve required the Nuggets to release him from his NBA contract right after they acquired him from Sacramento to fill a desperately needed roster hole. Denver’s new front office didn’t play ball.
Valanciunas will soon speak to American reporters for the first time since the unusually dramatic trade. Two months after the dust settled on an awkward situation, is the veteran big man feeling at peace with his new home? Does he want to play in Europe next year? Does he want the Nuggets to guarantee his 2026-27 salary? This will be his fourth NBA team in a fatiguing three-year stretch. As coach David Adelman outlined to The Denver Post, the Nuggets have big plans for him.
3. Championship core broken up
In comes Cam Johnson, out goes Michael Porter Jr. in arguably the most significant change to Denver’s roster since 2021 (Aaron Gordon). Since being introduced as the newest Nugget in a news conference earlier this summer, Johnson has been working out with a few of his new teammates already.
Most of those teammates have yet to comment on the blockbuster-ish trade with Brooklyn. Expect plenty of reflections on MPJ’s time in Denver and even more rave reviews of Johnson at media day. Training camp and preseason basketball will begin to test the seamlessness of his fit in the starting lineup alongside the Nuggets’ mainstays.
4. Rookie extensions looming
This is frankly a more intriguing and immediate storyline than Jokic’s extension delay, but Christian Braun and Peyton Watson just aren’t going to make national news headlines in the same way. Along with their fellow 2022 draftees, they’re entering the last year of their rookie contracts and have until the end of the offseason to sign extensions. Otherwise, they’ll be faced with the specter of restricted free agency next summer.
It’s not abnormal for these rookie extension talks to come down to the final day. (Zeke Nnaji signed his fateful $32 million deal 24 hours before Denver’s title defense tipped off in 2023.) But there’s certainly a chance that at least one of Denver’s 2022 first-rounders will enter the season with a murky future.
The Nuggets will be up against the 2026-27 second apron if and when they reach a deal with Braun, who’s regarded as a core piece after a breakout 2024-25 season. His extension could leave them more reluctant to bend in salary negotiations with Watson, who projects in the range of Nnaji’s salary, according to The Athletic. Is he willing to accept that type of money? Do the Nuggets absolutely want him on their books next year, having already suffered salary-cap consequences for extending Nnaji? How confident are both players in the progress so far?
5. David Adelman’s first training camp
The Adelman Era is here. After being thrown into the proverbial fire back in April, Denver’s interim head coach earned the full-time job and a full offseason to prepare. This is his first training camp at the helm.
There will be numerous questions to come about the rotation, the malleability of his lineups, how he plans to sub Jamal Murray, and how much he hopes to rest Jokic.
In the immediate future, though, we can wonder this: What will be the vibe around the Nuggets as they reassemble around a new staff and a new circle of leaders? Adelman is no stranger to implementing an offense on these trips to San Diego. Now he’s tasked with more intangible responsibilities. There’s reason for optimism in this department after the buy-in he achieved on short notice with a bohemian leadership style during the playoffs.
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