Nikola Jokić trade talk grows amid Nuggets struggles
An NBA executive told The Ringer that all 29 other teams should be plotting ways to land Nikola Jokić as the Nuggets stumble to a 3-3 start.
Why Nikola Jokić is trending
Nikola Jokić trade talk picked up this week after an NBA executive told The Ringer's Howard Beck that all 29 teams outside Denver should be constantly looking for ways to get him on their roster. The comment landed as the Nuggets sit at 3-3 to open the season, coming off an offseason that was widely panned for failing to build out the roster around their star center.
Jokić is in the final season of his current contract. He said in September that he plans to sign a new deal with Denver next summer, but the Nuggets' uneven start has executives around the league wondering whether that commitment holds if the roster around him does not improve.
The money behind the wait
Jokić has financial incentive to wait until next summer. If he signs a new contract then, he is eligible for up to five years and $359.5 million. If he extends off his current deal now, he is limited to four years and $278 million. One executive told Beck that Denver has struggled to build around Jokić because of financial constraints since the championship, and raised the question of whether the front office will "pull the trigger" on a deal before a new extension makes retooling even harder.
An offseason that drew a near-failing grade
Denver's summer did little to ease those questions. The Nuggets lost Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, let Tim Hardaway Jr. leave in free agency, and used the waive-and-stretch provision to move on from Jonas Valančiūnas. The headline additions were DeMar DeRozan and Marvin Bagley III. B/R's Grant Hughes graded every team's offseason before the season started and gave Denver a D-minus, tied with the Washington Wizards for second-worst in the league, ahead of only the Clippers' F.
Watson has started slowly in Cleveland, which takes some of the sting out of that move, but the lack of any real addition alongside Jokić, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon left a roster that lost in the first round of last season's playoffs largely unchanged.
Where the Nuggets stand now
Through six games, Denver ranks 16th in offensive rating and 23rd in defensive rating, and is the only team at .500 or better with a negative net rating, at minus-2.9. It is the first stretch since Jokić's rookie season in 2015-16 that a Nuggets offense has looked anything other than top 10.
The record did get a boost with a 128-109 win over the Toronto Raptors, a reminder of what the roster looks like when the offense clicks. Nothing has been decided on Jokić's future. He said in September he intends to re-sign with Denver next summer, and no team or player has made any move toward a trade. The question around the league is whether the front office treats this season as a warning sign before an extension makes any retooling harder.
Facts per Bleacher Report, ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.