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Nuggets Owner Under Fire Over Nikola Jokic Trade Comments

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Orlando Silva | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 5:26 PM ET

Denver Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke put himself in a complex position with fans after making a bold suggestion regarding Nikola Jokic's future. The Denver Nuggets failed to make a deep playoff run in the 2024-25 NBA season after securing the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference (50-32).

Jokic had another MVP-caliber season, averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game, which allowed him to finish second in the ballot behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Coincidentally, their season ended in seven games against the Gilgeous-Alexander-led Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semis. Before that, they made two shocking decisions, firing head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth right before the start of the postseason.

Kroenke, unexpectedly, hinted at the possibility of parting ways with another crucial member of the team under specific circumstances. During a Thursday press conference (via NBA Central on X), Kroenke explained there might be a scenario for the Nuggets in which a player gets injured and they get close to the second apron, which would force them to consider trading Jokic away.

“There are rules around it that we needed to be very careful of with our injury history," Kroenke said. "Wrong person gets injured, and very quickly you're into a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that's trading No. 15 [Nikola Jokic]."

These comments didn't sit well with the vast majority of fans. They started calling out Kroenke for even suggesting parting ways with the player who led them to their first-ever NBA championship.

"Why would you say something like this," one fan questioned.

"This could be the worst possible thing an owner could say in a press conference wtf," a second fan wrote.

"Why would you say this??" A third fan asked.

"we have the worst owner in the nba," a fourth fan said.

"Batman couldn’t get me to say this (expletive) out loud," a fifth fan added.

"Even speaking on it is crazy but I’m not mad," a sixth fan said.

Nico Harrison demonstrated that shocking trades can still happen in the NBA. Nothing suggests that the Nuggets are entertaining the idea of trading Nikola Jokic, but everything could change fast.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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