Nuggets owner weirdly brought up trading Nikola Jokić unprompted

USA Today

5 days ago

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The Denver Nuggets are at a crossroads this offseason.
On the one hand, the Nuggets might be a couple of competent bench players away from being bona fide NBA title contenders again. You know, a real threat to the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder. On the other hand, given Denver's limited assets and flexibility at the moment, getting quality rotational pieces who can contribute in the playoffs might be easier said than done. It's quite a pickle.
But if there's one thing the Nuggets can never, ever do, it's trade three-time MVP Nikola Jokić in the middle of his prime. In fact, with a looming contract decision on the horizon for the Serbian center, it should be their priority to ensure he signs said deal. After all, their entire current team-building philosophy should be centered around putting an all-time player like Jokić in a position to win as many championships as possible. Heck, the Nuggets even broaching the mere possibility that they could ever trade the likely best player they'll ever have should be a huge no-no. You win with him and only with him.
Uh, about that.
On Tuesday, Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke held a press conference to introduce Denver's new front office featuring dual executive vice presidents, Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace. When Kroenke was asked about whether the Nuggets have any reservations about going into the NBA's dreaded second tax apron to improve the roster around Jokić, a limiting situation for all teams once it happens, he claimed they aren't scared about it.
However, to explain his rationale behind not willingly entering the second apron right now, Kroenke described the Nuggets' worst-case scenario.
What would happen if someone important on Denver's roster got seriously injured? Which, you know, seems possible given the recent injury histories of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and now Aaron Gordon. In that potential reality, Kroenke (unprompted, mind you) said the Nuggets would be in such a bind that he might have to consider "trading number 15," a.k.a. Jokić. Because they'd owe it to him to put him back in a competitive environment or ... something.
Huh? What?
I don't think Kroenke meant to imply the Nuggets would ever genuinely contemplate trading one of the greatest basketball players ever, who still has plenty of gas left in the tank. It's highly unlikely the Nuggets would be able to recover as an organization any time soon if they pulled the trigger on such an earth-shattering move like trading the best player in the league. But still, what an extremely inelegant way to clarify why you're hesitant about entering the second apron at a press conference that was designed to make Denver fans feel better about their team's future.
This is likely just a major PR misstep on Kroenke's part, but it's the worst one you want to make in this specific context.
What's clear is Kroenke and the Nuggets don't have much wiggle room to be this cautious anymore.
The reason they're scared of getting backed into a corner by the second apron after a serious injury to a core player is that they have $165 million committed to just four players entering the 2025 NBA season. If the Nuggets were to cross the second apron line, they would essentially only have roughly $40 million to fill out the rest of their top-heavy roster. Until the Nuggets are willing to be more creative around possibly breaking up their core surrounding Jokić, the second apron will remain dangerous to their team-building prospects all around. That's what they've signed up for with their structure, which they can still win with, even though the margins are smaller.
Trading Jokić in the event of a worst-case scenario should be the equivalent of pushing a scary big red button that says "don't push this" right above it. It would annihilate all remaining goodwill the Denver franchise has right now and set the Nuggets back for years. If the Nuggets want to continue pursuing their current plan in earnest, they'd better ensure they're doing everything possible to optimize him first and foremost. He's too special.
Jettisoning him off a sinking ship at the first sign of trouble should never even cross their mind.