The top priority on Tim Connelly’s offseason to-do list could be pretty easy to accomplish.

“There’s nothing more important organizationally than to make sure Nikola (Jokic) stays here as long as he wants to play the game,” the Nuggets’ president of basketball operations said Friday.

After the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs in Game 5 of their first-round series against Golden State, Jokic said he would accept a super-max extension if it’s offered. Connelly gave no reason why it wouldn’t be offered.

“Nikola’s done everything as good as you can, both as a player and as a person since the minute he’s gotten here,” Connelly said. “He’s a special guy, special family.”

While Connelly doesn’t know which area Jokic might improve, he’s expecting him to come back better in some fashion. A full offseason for the first time in a few years shouldn’t hurt.

“I joke with him, though. He says he’s tired,” Connelly said. “I said ‘just keep coming back tired, because you keep getting better and better.’”

Draft decisions

The Nuggets have a little less than two months to prepare for the June 23 draft, the team’s first opportunity to improve next season’s roster, and the front office likes where it sits with the 21st overall selection.

“We think there’s going to be a lot of really good players, kind of our type of guys. Guys who are self-motivated, hard-playing guys,” Connelly said before adding it’s too early to know whether they would have interest in moving up or down in the draft via trade.

“We’d be pretty excited to draft at 21 tomorrow,” he said.

One area the Nuggets could look to improve is perimeter defense. With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. expecting to be healthy for the start of next season, the offense should get better as the team gets back to full health. The series with Golden State seemed to shine a light on the team’s defensive deficiencies.

“I think it’s pretty evident where we need to get better, and we’ll be aggressive trying to address those needs,” Connelly said.

He added that there were discussions about drafting a guy who could get his own shot in last year’s draft, knowing Murray wouldn’t be available for most of the season. With him back in the fold, the Nuggets will likely take their usual approach as what he calls a “best-player-available draft team.”

Talking taxes

Keeping a talented core together comes at a cost, and with Jokic, Murray and Porter all set to make roughly $30 million or more next season, and Aaron Gordon earning just under $20 million, paying the luxury tax might be the cost of significantly improving the roster around them this offseason.

Teams with combined salaries that exceed $149 million will have to pay an additional fee. That’s something Connelly said was on the table.

“Ownership has been consistent. If the team is good enough, they’ll pay accordingly,” he said. “I don’t think that will be any sort of issue moving forward. We’re getting really, really expensive. It’s a blessing and a curse. If you’re getting expensive, it’s because you’re paying really, really good players. These numbers, they elevate pretty quickly. They’re only going to elevate more as we move forward. I think ownership is firmly aware of financially where we might be and how that can impact our team.”

The Davon decision

One of the biggest decisions Denver’s front office had to make during the season was what to do with Davon Reed. The team signed the wing to a two-way contract early in the season. And the 25-year-old showed some flashes during the regular season at a position of need, but the team ultimately decided against waiving another player to create a postseason roster spot for him.

“Davon was great. It wasn’t an easy decision by any stretch,” Connelly said. “I think he showed he belonged.”

“We weren’t comfortable making that roster move. It wasn’t reflective of Davon. He’s a really, really good player and a guy that belongs in this league. (He) will, in short order, be off that two-way (contract).”

Catching up with Cousins

Denver’s president of basketball operations joined the franchise’s coach and each of the players who have spoken publicly in endorsing what DeMarcus Cousins brought to the team after his midseason addition.

Whether that means he’ll be back is to be determined. Connelly said they will have those discussions at some point this offseason. There was little debating what the veteran center provided.

“Boogie was fantastic,” Connelly said. “He brought a ton both on the court and in the locker room. He’s helped stabilize that second unit.”