Nikola Jokic losing reasons to stay after Denver Nuggets make money-saving trade

Nuggets severely lacking in depth

For an athlete known for his resiliency, the 2025-26 campaign was a record year for Jokic in a surprising way: his 65 games played were the fewest of his NBA career, fewer than he had as a rookie or even in either of the two COVID-shortened seasons at the start of the decade.

The big man will be 32 in February, by no means old for a basketball player, but also not a surprising age to start declining for a center listed at an inch shy of seven feet.

In an era of basketball already concerned with load management, the Nuggets organization needs to be thinking in terms of roster depth if they want to build the best team around Jokic and give the center a reason to stay. Instead, they have painted themselves into a corner, forced to trade away the budding Watson just to come close to getting under the second apron.

Nobody will deny that a starting five of Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson is among the strongest in the league. But if the best backup for the best player in that lineup is Marvin Bagley III, and if that best player looks to be entering the latter stage of his career, all with no clear mechanism for improving the roster further, then it's perfectly reasonable to question whether that player may like his title chances better elsewhere.

Nikola Jokic finally has precedent for leaving

European players have long held a reputation for a special level of loyalty in the NBA, from Dirk Nowitzki spending his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks and Tony Parker playing every year but one for the San Antonio Spurs to the current global era of basketball we have today. Luka Doncic looked perfectly happy to stay in Dallas if he'd had his way, and Victor Wembanyama has already taken less money in his first extension to stay with the Spurs, seemingly leaving that reputation intact going forward.

The Antetokounmpo trade changes all of that. Officially, Giannis never requested a trade to the Miami Heat, but the years-long saga of back-and-forth rumors make clear that a franchise that fails to build a competitive team around their European superstar now risks losing that superstar just as much as any domestic player, championship history notwithstanding.

Anyone who has seen Jokic give a press conference knows that the Serbian is not one to stand on ceremony – if he'd rather be somewhere else, he has no qualms with doing what he must to get from here to there as quickly as possible. The rarified air of Denver has made for many memorable moments in the center's career so far. But don't be surprised if a man born to play basketball and a franchise desperate for financial flexibility both decide that a blockbuster move is preferable to a contract negotiation, perhaps even as soon as February's trade deadline.