Greek giants officially made an offer for Jokic but were rejected; they will pursue him again next summer, confident they can sign the Nuggets superstar

On August 11, Beijing time, Dimitrios Giannakopoulos, the owner of the Greek basketball club Panathinaikos and a Greek business tycoon, revealed that he had submitted a proposal to the Denver Nuggets, hoping to buy out the final season of Nikola Jokic's current NBA contract early, and he believes he can sign Jokic next summer.

Giannakopoulos said on the "European Insider" podcast: "People will definitely say, 'Come on, he's just joking.' But this year, I did submit a very formal offer to the team and to Jokic himself, but it was rejected. I know he has one year left on his contract."

Jokic's current contract still has two seasons remaining, with a total salary of $121.8 million, but the second season is a player option, meaning he can opt out next summer and become an unrestricted free agent. Since June 14, he has been eligible to sign a four-year, $278 million max extension, but he has yet to finalize it. Jokic has stated that his "thoughts and wishes" are to spend his entire career in Denver, but for financial considerations, he plans to delay the extension.

According to ESPN league insider Bobby Marks, the 31-year-old Jokic will be eligible to sign a five-year, $359.5 million extension with the Nuggets by July 2027, which could set a new NBA salary record.

Giannakopoulos said the Nuggets quickly rejected his offer, but he made it clear that once Jokic becomes a free agent, he will pursue him again. He also asked the podcast host to directly call Jokic's agent, Misko Raznatovic, to verify the validity of this summer's formal offer.

"The Nuggets responded in just a few seconds: 'Who? Greece? Where? What? Goodbye.'" Giannakopoulos said. "Then we'll wait until next year."

Last summer, Giannakopoulos also tried to recruit veteran big man Valanciunas from the Nuggets. At the time, many thought a trade was imminent, sparking speculation, but Valanciunas ultimately stayed with the Nuggets for the rest of the season.

This offseason, Valanciunas left the Nuggets to join the Lithuanian EuroLeague powerhouse Zalgiris Kaunas. This was just a minor note in the Nuggets' relatively quiet free agency market.

The Nuggets signed veteran big man Marvin Bagley III and matched the offer sheet received by wing backup Spencer Jones, keeping him with a two-year, $12 million deal. Aside from that, the Nuggets largely retained their expensive roster, and the team is still negotiating a restricted free agent extension with Peyton Watson.