RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesNikola Jokic's impending free agency in the 2027 NBA offseason is an interesting storyline, although he and the Denver Nuggets have reiterated the plan to remain together for the long haul. Regardless, it hasn't stopped fans of various teams from keeping their fingers crossed that the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player could opt for a change of scenery. Apparently, the owner of EuroLeague team Panathinaikos, Dimitris Giannakopoulos, feels similarly, except that he sounds completely sold on the prospects of luring Jokic overseas.
As the Euro Hoops revealed, while speaking on the Euro Insiders podcast , Giannakopoulos didn't just say he wanted to sign Jokic. Instead, he boldly declared that he "will sign" the Nuggets star next year.
"...There is one player who remains a dream of mine, whom I haven’t signed yet, but I will sign next year," Giannakopoulos said. "...It's Jokic, the best player in the world."
As the story cited, the hosts were understandably skeptical about the comments, but Giannakopoulos doubled down on the claim.
"Don’t laugh at all. If I don’t sign Jokic, I’m not going anywhere," he added.
"People are going to say, 'OK, now he’s joking.' I did make a very serious proposal this year, both to his team and to him. I got a rejection. I know that he has one more year on his contract," Giannakopoulos admitted.
Giannakopoulos apparently tried to buy out Jokic's final year of contract with Nuggets
To say Giannakopoulos' comments are bold would be an understatement. Jokic is expected to sign a record-breaking contract extension with the Nuggets next offseason, and there's little doubt about that. However, this story is even more incredible, as Giannakopoulos admitted that he tried to buy Jokic out of his contract last offseason.
Not surprisingly, it appears that it didn't go well.
"When I asked, he had a certain contract running. This was his last year. I tried to buy out his last year," Giannakopoulos explained. "They didn’t even… It took them a few seconds to say, 'Who?' 'Greece?' 'Where?' 'Goodbye' from his team," he said. "Let’s wait until next year."
Regardless of how the 2026-27 NBA season goes, nothing suggests Jokic won't be with the Nuggets in 2027 and beyond, even if the Panathinaikos owner has other plans.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: EuroLeague owner (seriously) plans to lure Nikola Jokic from Nuggets: 'Don't laugh at all'
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