It’s not easy to find one-team players in today’s day and age anymore. Rightfully so, superstars want to get paid like it, and they also want to compete for championships every single season. When one or both of those aren’t possible, the player tends to move on.
This past summer, the Milwaukee Bucks saw it happen with Giannis Antetokounmpo. After 13 seasons in Milwaukee, Giannis felt the franchise was no longer set up for success, so he facilitated a trade to the Miami Heat. That move has NBA analysts wondering who could pull off something similar in the near future. The biggest name that’s come up? Nikola Jokic.
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Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports floated the possibility of Jokic trying to force his way out of Denver. O’Connor and his co-host, Tom Haberstroh, plead the legendary center to think about moving on from a Nuggets franchise that hasn’t done enough to support him with the proper pieces around him in many seasons.
[Jokic leaving the Nuggets] should be something, I think, on our minds. I think it at least should be something on his mind: ‘Do I really want to be here long-term?’ I think it’s a legitimate question for him. Why would he not think about it at this point when you look at this team?.. Denver is going to make some changes, or Jokic might have to change. Simple as that.
Haberstroh added on that the Nuggets have the benefit of Jokic being happy in the city and not wanting to cause any drama. He simply doesn’t think other superstars, like Kevin Durant or LeBron James, would stick it out in Denver given the team’s current situation.
Where could Jokic go? Any NBA franchise would be lining up to acquire him, but some Toronto Raptors fans are already feeling confident about potentially landing Jokic. The reason? Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, who has been there since 2023, previously helped coach Jokic on the Serbian national team.