As a basketball player, Nikola Jokic is inevitable. As a personality, he is comfortable.
That endearing quality allows the Nuggets’ ownership to take advantage of him, permitting strategic neutrality through glossy double talk as the franchise reaches a crossroads.
Honestly? At this point in his career, there really is only one way Jokic can help the Nuggets win a championship.
Force them to pick a lane.
The Nuggets insist their championship window remains open because of Jokic. President Josh Kroenke emphasized as much last Friday.
But, the Nuggets front office knows the team is flawed, exposed as inferior and soft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. But, they have a good core with Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Jokic. They could run it back.
And round and round it goes.
The Nuggets held a press conference to let us know they could do everything or nothing this offseason. Thanks for clearing that up. It is like the cable guy saying he will show up sometime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The ambiguity is maddening and messy.
The Nuggets need a clear direction.
What if Jokic walked into the corner office of Stan and Josh Kroenke — or set up a Zoom call from the race track — and demanded the owners spend into the luxury tax or risk the three-time MVP not signing his four-year, $278 million contract extension?
Some people are convinced that the Nuggets are fine and should never acquiesce to any player, even the greatest in franchise history. But would they really say no and risk the consecutive sellout streak and the merchandise money tied to his presence?
The idea of Jokic with a meaner demeanor struck me as to get Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka fired — how dare he not give James a game ball after he set the record for most victories by any player in NBA history? And the chronically tardy while maintaining plausible deniability.
It is exhausting. And it makes us appreciate Jokic.
But what if the Nuggets need something different? For him to command an all-in approach or agree to exercise patience.
At this point in his career — 11 seasons deep — Jokic should demand ownership spend into the luxury tax to improve the roster around him. Or hold his peace and show patience.
And ownership must come clean, and admit this offseason is about avoiding the repeater tax penalties, and that another title run will begin in earnest in 2029 as beat writer Bennett Durando explained, setting “Denver up for three seasons of aggressive spending that coincide with the term of Jokic’s next contract.”
Running it back is the equivalent of being half-pregnant.
The idea of Jokic asserting authority is appealing, rather than remaining satisfied that the front office listens to his opinions and runs big decisions past him. But the time he needed to do it was in 2024.
It is hard to see the Nuggets adding or reconfiguring the pieces in a meaningful way. General managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer have shown acumen, but asking them to thread the needle by avoiding the apron and keeping the core together seems unrealistic.
Trading multiple players, though, can re-energize the franchise and make it more flexible with draft capital. It is not ideal. But it is not a terrible idea when looking at how the Nuggets measure up against the Timberwolves, Spurs and Oklahoma City.
Those teams are more athletic, deeper and way better defensively at a time when that trend is dominating the postseason.
It is fair to wonder if the era of winning with offense — even one as prolific as the Nuggets — is over. Jokic’s reign as the best player is. Victor Wembanyama is ready to turn the MVP trophy into a personal paperweight beginning next season.
This is why taking a step back to move forward is rational, if executed properly. I am never a fan of saving owners money, but going all in with the same team, including retaining Peyton Watson, is sentimental and shortsighted.
The Jokic-Murray-Gordon trio is not what it once was.
The players are three years older since winning rings. Gordon has been hurt and has only been available for half the games. And it doesn’t help that Jokic and Murray, below-average defenders in 2023, are worse now because they lack the burst to make stops in big moments or at the end of games.
It would be great to challenge them to produce one last dance together. But even if they have the determination, it cannot mask aging bodies that can betray them.
Their best chance seems to be avoiding a quick fix. The Nuggets don’t have to rebuild. They have to reboot around Jokic.
The risk of standing put is not worth the reward. They would be better off trading Cam Johnson and Gordon or Murray than winning 55 games next season, knowing the second round is the ceiling.
The idea of stepping back with Jokic seems outrageous. I get it. But the Nuggets are not one or two players away. Jokic can make the team competitive, entertaining. I am pretty sure Jokic and four guys from the YMCA would post a winning record.
Wouldn’t you rather see 48 victories with young players with an eye on supplementing the group with big-name free agents starting in 2028? Think back to when the Nuggets produced their most memorable victories last season — at Philadelphia, at Boston and at San Antonio.
The common thread in those games? Players who were hungry with more energy. A younger team with promise is easy to embrace after watching the Nuggets capitulate in the playoffs.
They need a reset. It is an uncomfortable conversation. But the only way ownership will have failed Jokic is if he doesn’t get another championship. Not next year. Over the next five years.
