Nikola Jovic, one of several Miami Heat players making noise at EuroBasket, seems fully cleared for takeoff ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season. The Heat might want to lock in the extension-eligible forward before a possible fourth-year leap.
Miami would be paying more for potential than production, obviously, but it'd also avoid the risk of his salary skyrocketing in 2026 restricted free agency. Contract projections point toward a reasonable wager right now. A four-year contract in the $60 million range has been floated a few times. If he's anything like the player he's been overseas, that pay rate could prove a massive bargain.
Extending Jovic now is the right move for Miami.
From the Heat's side of things, an extension feels like a no-brainer. Jovic may not be the most explosive athlete or stingiest stopper around, but his offensive gifts are obvious and unique.
How many other 6'10" players are lacing 37 percent of their career three-balls and flashing the kind of passing vision that suggests they'd be comfortable operating as a jumbo playmaker? Oh, and on that note, he just so happens to be getting some firsthand tutelage from the best big-playmaker to lace them up: Serbian National teammate—and three-time NBA MVP—Nikola Jokic.
In other words, what's already a standout skill for Jovic could grow even sharper. And if he's striping perimeter shots while picking apart defenses with his passing next season, then his next contract could become exponentially more expensive than what it is right now.
"Jokic isn't getting more than the [midlevel exception], but inking him now four years in the $50 million to $60 million range could end up being a savvy long-term move," The Athletic's John Hollinger wrote. "At that price, Jovic can return positive value even if he never becomes a starter."
The question for this discussion, then, might be whether Jovic would be better off betting on himself and saving contract negotiations for next summer. Regardless of whether he winds up starting in a supersized frontcourt alongside Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware or serves as one of the first players off of Miami's bench, Jovic will have the opportunities needed to perhaps make that breakout happen.
He'll have to capitalize on those chances, obviously, but he'll have the touches and shots to prove his worth. For an offense struggling to escape the NBA's bottom-third in efficiency, the Heat have a lot riding on his ability to become a stretch shooter, savvy ball-mover, and support scorer.
While Miami can't control whether Jovic would be amenable to an extension, it also doesn't need to worry about that. It just needs to do its part, which feels increasingly obvious: put the extension offer in front of him as soon as possible and hope like heck that he's ready to sign.