The Nuggets faced a harsh trade reality after the injury to Nikola Jokic

ByNBAUSA



The Denver Nuggets navigated what it could have been a disastrous transition period last season after firing general manager Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone in April. They pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 in the Western Conference Semifinals and finished their campaign with some much-needed momentum. They then answered the pleas of fans in the offseason, making multiple moves to upgrade their weak bullpen. Those efforts are now being tested to the maximum extent.

Denver lost four starters, none more important than the man many believed was marching toward his fourth MVP award. Nikola Jokic will miss at least four weeks with a hyperextended knee, putting the franchise in a vulnerable spot in 2026. Despite sitting in third place in the West at 22-10, the Nuggets are just three games away from the NBA playoffs. They can quickly slide down the table without falling into the center.

Given how aggressive the organization has been in the 2025-26 campaign, fans could expect the front office to make a trade in response to Jokic’s injury. Well, think again. ClutchPoints NBA Insider Brett Siegel sums up the troubling situation in Denver.

“Look at the way forward; there really isn’t one because they don’t have the trading assets,” he told Clutch Scoops. “It’s not like they’re going to come out and make a drastic move because Jokic is injured. If he was out of season, that’s a completely different story and argument. But this is a four-to-six week period… So they’re just going to push forward with their depth.”

Siegel cited Zeke Nnaji as the only real “trade asset” the Nuggets currently have, but given the lack of success trying to move him in the past, he doesn’t expect the deal to go through this season. Denver has to trust the roster it built and hope Jamal Murray can improve while Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Christian Brown and Cam Johnson recover from injuries.

David Adelman stepped in as interim head coach under uniquely unsettling circumstances at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. He will be challenged once again this season. The Nuggets will be counting on their revamped bench to keep them respectable in this one time of troublestarting with the New Year’s game against the Toronto Raptors (20-14).





2025-12-31 05:52:00

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