As the Denver Nuggets aim to reconfigure their supporting cast around star players Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray following their failure to secure back-to-back titles, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey suggested a small trade that could significantly influence the next season.
Denver Nuggets receive: Vasilije Micić
Charlotte Hornets receive: Zeke Nnaji
Acquiring Micić could provide the Nuggets with a veteran backup for Murray, especially if Reggie Jackson opts out of his $5.2 million player option to pursue a more lucrative contract elsewhere.
Adding Micić could significantly bolster the Nuggets’ bench scoring, a major weakness revealed during the playoffs, particularly during Jokic’s usual rest periods.
“Beyond adding one of Nikola Jokić’s countrymen, this deal would give Denver something that it has desperately needed throughout the Jokić era: a steady creator when the big man is off the floor,” Bailey wrote.
According to Basketball Reference, the Nuggets were outscored by 20.1 points per 100 possessions during the playoffs when Jokic was not on the court.
In his first NBA season, 30-year-old Micić averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 assists, playing for both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Charlotte Hornets after a decade-long career in Europe.
Following LaMelo Ball’s ankle injury, Micić stepped in as a starter for 21 games, averaging 11.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 2.4 rebounds for the Hornets.
Meanwhile, Bailey said the 23-year-old Nnaji “could still develop into an interesting pick-and-pop partner with LaMelo Ball” which would not happen in Denver with his limited playing time.
Nikola Jokic is eager to have Vasilije Micić join him in Denver
Trading for the Serbian national team point guard would also grant Jokic’s wish to play alongside his fellow countryman.
In 2022, Jake Fischer, an NBA insider for Yahoo Sports, reported for Bleacher Report that “Jokic has been a significant influence behind Denver’s interest in acquiring the [2021] EuroLeague MVP.”
Micić felt honored by Jokic’s expressed desire to play with him in the NBA.
“I cannot say that I am such a close friend with Nikola [Jokic] because he lives in his own world. He is so a unique person, first of all. He is such a humble guy and I cannot understand how he manages that, how he handles that attention that he has because he is the best player in the world,” Micić told BasketNews in June of 2022.
Jokic’s wish was unfulfilled when the Thunder, who obtained Micić’s rights from the Philadelphia 76ers in the Al Horford trade, signed him to a multi-year NBA deal. Nevertheless, Micić continued to hold Jokic in high esteem.
“He makes such a small country like Serbia so recognizable and so famous and I am just trying from the shadow to support his achievements and make it even bigger,” he added.
Nuggets’ Offseason Moves Aim to Accommodate Nikola Jokic
With the Nuggets expected to be a second-apron team, their ability to upgrade the roster is highly restricted unless they trade one of their stars.
However, the Nuggets are determined to invest heavily with Jokic on the team.
“You have a responsibility to him (Jokic),” Denver president Josh Kroenke told reporters at the Nuggets’ exit interview.
As a second-apron tea
m, the Nuggets can’t include additional cash in trades, so Booth suggested enhancing the roster through smaller, peripheral moves.
” Obviously, maybe in our top seven, we can use a little bit more talent,” general manager Calvin Booth said at the team’s postseason presser. “Maybe there’s a way to upgrade one or two positions. But I don’t see anything that’s, like, crazy out of sorts for our roster.”
Bailey’s trade proposal involving Nnaji and Micić aligns with the new CBA and fits the criteria, as Nnaji’s salary ($8.8 million) is higher than Micić’s ($7.7 million).
