Not every Celtics fan wanted the team to go all-in and trade Jaylen Brown plus other assets for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the thought of pairing Giannis with Jayson Tatum was awfully tantalizing. Now that we’ve seen the fallout from the failed trade and realized that Boston may have to deal JB anyway, plus the uninspiring possible deals that are out there, and losing the Giannis sweepstakes is starting to feel more and more like a disaster.
That’s mostly because there isn’t another Giannis-level player out there, or anything even close. Every deal we keep hearing about revolves around picks and young players, and would almost certainly be a big step back for a perennial contender.
But all of a sudden, there may be an even better potential option for the Celtics, and that’s a trade for three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets have been going in the wrong direction since winning the title in 2023, and they’re facing another tumultuous offseason in which they’ve already signaled a desire to cut costs, likely by salary dumping a starter.
Nikola Jokic may turn down extension from Nuggets this summer
On Saturday, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported that Jokic is in no rush to sign an extension and may even wait until next summer to do so. This is, by far, the most pressure he has ever applied to the organization, and one that puts Denver on the clock immediately.
He has never shown any inclination to want to leave Denver, and when he passed on an extension last summer, the assumption was that it was a financial decision to wait until this offseason to sign for even more money. But now, he has been eligible to agree to that deal since the season ended, and there has been no progress.
He’s about to enter the final guaranteed year of his deal and could decline his player option next season and be an unrestricted free agent. That’s an absolute doomsday scenario for the Nuggets that could cripple the franchise for a very long time. It’s not a risk they can afford to take, and as a result, they have to act with urgency.
Maybe this will get the attention of ownership and the front office, they’ll pay into the second arpon, do whatever it takes to appease Jokic, and convince him to sign that extension. But maybe not. And if not, they have to seriously consider trading the best player in franchise history before it’s too late and they lose him for nothing.
Celtics should make all-in push for Jokic
Stein and Fischer also reported that the Nuggets have had internal discussions about Jaylen Brown, likely to pair with Jokic, but this could easily go the other way. Things happen quickly in the NBA, and if the Nuggets end up holding a bidding war for the Joker, Boston is primed to pounce.Â
They can easily offer Brown plus whatever picks and young players get it done to give the Celtics the best center in the league. Jokic is younger and better than Giannis, with a cleaner bill of health and a game that relies less on athleticism, and should age more gracefully. Trading for Jokic and pairing him with Tatum would be a dream come true and would instantly vault the Celtics to being favorites, at least in the East, if not the entire league.
We’re still a long way away from this happening, but it’s now very much on the radar. If the Celtics find a deal they like, they shouldn’t say no just to wait for this Jokic situation to play out. But if the offers continue to be uninspiring, it may be worth keeping the powder dry and saving up for an all-in run at the best player of the decade.
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