Hey Mike, has two strikes against him already this season, maybe three: 1. The Su’a Cravens hotel lobby fight caught on video; 2. The bonehead foul on Ricky Rubio in the home opener with Phoenix with 1.8 seconds left in the game (that enabled the Suns to tie the game and send it into overtime); and (possibly) 3. Hiring Klutch Sports to represent him in contract talks. Do you think these “strikes” will weigh against him in the FO’s decision whether to keep or trade him by the Feb. 7 trade deadline? And, if traded, are the Nuggets in a position to get a quality player or pick in return?
— Brad Hicks, Arvada
I appreciate the question, Brad. First of all, I don’t think the Cravens fight can be taken as a strike against him “this season.” The fight happened in August, and it was promptly addressed. Team officials knew about it and obviously weren’t thrilled to have one of their players confronting anyone in a lobby, let alone an NFL player. The fact that the video leaked the day before the extension deadline was immaterial since the team knew about the incident. I’m sure it was a factor in their final offer to him, but they weren’t blindsided by the news.
I think Beasley’s play will dictate what the front office decides to do with him. If they think he might command a more lucrative deal than they’d be willing to pay him, a trade is possible. My guess is if he replicates last season (11.3 points, 40% shooting from 3-point range), some team will offer him in the neighborhood of $17-18 million and a potential starting role. The other consideration: do the Nuggets need him this year to reach their ceiling, regardless of what his future holds? It’s possible they reach that conclusion and just play this season out.
The Nuggets offense looked downright pedestrian against Portland, Phoenix and Sacramento. For a team that couldn’t stop talking about continuity this offseason, that feels like a red flag. How worried should we be?
— Matt, Denver
Against Portland, they shot the cover off the ball from 3-point range, and against Phoenix, dominated. But as a whole, their offense has yet to click. My working theory is that their two best players, Jokic and , aren’t operating at their full capacity.
“We play through those two guys, so it’s definitely tough finding a continuous rhythm, the rhythm we want with those guys being our best two players,” said. “We just gotta keep getting Jokic touches, Jamal’s touches, make sure they get their shots but try not to overthink it. They’ll break through eventually, we know that.”
It sure looks to me like Nikola Jokic is extremely heavier than last year and out of shape tremendously! He looks a lot slower and it seems to be hurting his effectiveness. Example: the first game he had 3 bad fouls in first quarter because he can’t move his feet.
— John Lusenhop, Loveland
It’s tough to watch Jokic closely throughout the first four games of the season and not reach the same conclusion. Yes, he’s had two triple-doubles already, but his body language and engagement haven’t always been encouraging. As the Nuggets were trying to claw back against Dallas on Tuesday night (the second game of a tough back-to-back), Jokic took one shot in the fourth quarter. It’s possible he was exhausted after landing at 3 a.m.
In fairness, Jokic saved them in their season-opener in Portland and was clutch against Phoenix and Sacramento. I think the difference is that he has yet to dominate like we saw in the postseason last year.
