Las Vegas – After practicing with the team and meeting the media on Thursday, July 9th, in Denver, Nikola Jokic has signed an official deal with the Nuggets, according to his agent Misko Raznatovic. The details of the contract have not been announced by the Nuggets, but Raznatovic tweeted the following:
Nikola Jokic, moved from Mega Leks to NBA team, Denver Nuggets (3 plus 1 year is duration of the agreement).
— Misko4Raznatovic (@MiskoRaznatovic) July 10, 2015
It appears Misko is saying the deal is a three-year contract with a team or player option for a fourth year. It's likely that it's a team option.
With Jokic being a former second round pick (41st overall), these rules apply to how his contract can be structured and where that money comes from, from Larry Coon's FAQ:
Unlike first round picks, who have a scale salary (see question number 49), second round picks do not have any specific salary restrictions. They may sign for any amount from the minimum to the maximum, but players who last to the second round of the draft seldom command more than the minimum salary.
Also unlike first round picks, teams do not receive a salary cap exception specifically for their second round picks. These players must be signed using cap room or an available exception (see question number 25), such as the Minimum Salary exception or the Mid-Level exception. It is most common for a second round pick to receive the minimum salary and be signed using the Minimum Salary exception. However, since the Minimum Salary exception limits contracts to two seasons, it is not uncommon for teams to use a portion of their Mid-Level exception in order to sign the player for three seasons. This gives the team full Bird rights at the end of the contract, and avoids the Gilbert Arenas provision (see question number 45).
It'll be interesting to see the numbers on this contract and how much room the Nuggets will have left for guys like restricted free agent Will Barton and unrestricted free agents Darrell Arthur and Jameer Nelson.
Jokic will be in action tonight at 5 pm CT and 6 pm MT here in Las Vegas as the Nuggets take on the Atlanta Hawks.
