Strange as it sounds, we’ll own it, but the source could not be more direct. Dimitrios Giannakopoulos, the owner of Panathinaikos, publicly stated during his appearance on the Euro Insiders podcast that he had reached out to the Denver Nuggets in the summer to try to land Nikola Jokic. There, so to speak, he went. I don’t think we need to discuss the success of his proposal any further.
«Don’t laugh, people will think I’m joking, but I made an offer to both him and his team, yet it was rejected,» he said, and when asked immediately if he was serious, «Call Misko Raznatovic (Jokic’s agent) and ask him.»
“There is one player who is my dream and whom I have not signed yet, I will sign him next season: the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic!”
“Don’t laugh. Until I sign him, I’m not going anywhere. This year, I tried to make an offer, ask Misko Raznatovic.
People will say I’m… pic.twitter.com/sRBegDUE8h— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) August 10, 2026
Giannakopoulos did not want to discuss the exact figures of the bid, but he did hint with a tersely framed «you know the numbers» that his plan was at least to match Jokic’s salary in Denver. A buyout would be required to achieve that, given Jokic’s one-year remaining on his contract; he suggested a buyout value of $59 million for the 2026-27 season.
Needless to say, the conversation did not last long. According to the president, the Nuggets needed only a few seconds to respond, «Who? From Greece? What? Goodbye» before hanging up. Yet that doesn’t deter Giannakopoulos from holding onto his hopes. «We’ll see next year.»
Next year Jokic could be a free agent, but there is also a vacancy at Real Madrid for the center position, which doesn’t make me a candidate to sign him. The Serb has a player option worth $62.8 million, but it is expected that he will turn it down to sign an extension worth $359.5 million, the largest in NBA history, something he has publicly announced.
«My wish is to stay in Denver. I will probably sign the extension next year. I want to play the rest of my life there,» he said in early July, while competing with Serbia in the World Cup qualifying phase for 2027.
All told, there’s nothing wrong with letting Giannakopoulos dream big. After all, if that same phone call had been placed to Nico Harrison in January 2025, we might be laughing a lot less.
