May 18, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) runs down the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter during game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Nuggets Owner Gets Brutally Honest About Potential Nikola Jokic Trade

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI
By Logan Struck | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 4:47 PM ET

The NBA world was shocked when the Dallas Mavericks unexpectedly traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and since then, it seems like there are no more "untouchables" in the league.

Doncic, a 26-year-old superstar guard, was blindsided by the trade, and now many people have been wondering if anything like this could happen again. Could Shai Gilgeous-Alexander get traded? Nikola Jokic? Jayson Tatum? The NBA is a wild place right now, and the new CBA rules have only made it more hectic.

Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke recently talked about the possibility of having to trade three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic due to the rules around the second apron.

Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke believes there’s a nightmare scenario where the wrong player gets injured, and the second apron could force them to consider the possibility of trading Nikola Jokić

(h/t @jokicgoatic15 )

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— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 24, 2025

"For us, as an organization, going into that second apron is not necessarily something that we're scared of. I think there are rules around it that we need to be very careful of with our injury history. The wrong person gets injured, and very quickly, you're in the scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that's trading number 15 (Nikola Jokic). We're very conscious of that pushing forward," Kroenke said.

Jokic, 30, seems like one of the most unlikely players to get traded in the NBA, and before the Doncic blockbuster, nobody would have even thought about it. It is wild and unexpected for Kroenke to even suggest this scenario at this point.

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Jokic is in the prime of his career, and the Nuggets will almost always be a championship contender with him leading the way. For there to be a scenario where Jokic would be on the table has many fans questioning the rules that Kroenke talks about.

This article first appeared on Denver Nuggets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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