Charles Barkley wants Nikola Jokic to get some help

At halftime of Denver's 119-115 win over the Golden State Warriors, Barkley said, "I hope they (the Nuggets) make a trade. You cannot waste the Joker's career. He's the best player in the world."

Jokic is averaging 30.1 points, 13 rebounds and 10.4 assists this season while shooting 52.2 percent from three-point range. He's won three of the last four NBA MVP trophies, and finished second the other year.

But since winning the championship in 2023, the Nuggets lost wings Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency in consecutive summers. Their big acquisition this summer was 36-year-old Russell Westbrook. Jokic is as good as he's ever been, but his supporting cast has gotten worse.

In Tuesday's win, Jokic had 38 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in 40 minutes. When he was on the court, Denver outscored Golden State by 23 points. In the eight minutes Jokic sat, the Nuggets were -19. For the season, the Nuggets are 29 points better per 100 possessions with Jokic on the court, a staggering difference. 

One reason Jokic's situation resonates with Barkley is that it's similar to what happened to him in Philadelphia. Just as Barkley emerged as an All-Star, the 76ers made a series of inexplicable moves. They traded the No. 1 pick in the draft for a power forward named Roy Hinson, then dealt Hall of Famer Moses Malone, plus a future first-round pick, for a center named Jeff Ruland who played only five games for the team.

"The biggest mistake I probably made in my career: I should have got out of Philadelphia two years sooner," Barkley said in a 2014 radio interview. "I was wasting my talent here because we didn't have a good team."

Barkley was arguably the league's second-best player behind Michael Jordan, making the All-NBA first team four seasons in a row. But his team never got Barkley help, and he couldn't advance past the second round of the playoffs. He eventually requested a trade to the Phoenix Suns, where he won MVP in 1993 and reached the NBA Finals.

Unlike Barkley, Jokic already has a championship ring, but Barkley thinks he should have more than one. The Nuggets are limited in what moves they can make, thanks to being hard-capped at the second luxury tax apron, but resigning Caldwell-Pope would have only cost them money, not picks or players.

Jokic is so good, he could still lead the Nuggets to a title without help. But he turns 30 this season. The team needs to do whatever it can to maximize his success in his prime. Or they're going to keep getting an earful from the Chuckster once a week.