The Boston Celtics aren't star-hunting after sending Jaylen Brown to the Sixers and getting Paul George in return, but that doesn't mean they won't be among the first teams to pick up the phone if a top player hits the market. If that player were Nikola Jokić, you'd have to think that Brad Stevens would be the first person to ring Denver's line.
Boston would be competing with a slew of other teams for the superstar's services if he doesn't want to re-sign with the Nuggets. Jokić hasn't said that he doesn't want to be in Denver (he's said the opposite, that he wants to be there "forever"), but because he is delaying an extension again this offseason, his future will remain a talking point.
The Nuggets haven't done anything to quiet the speculation that will be ongoing throughout the 2026-27 season. So far, they've only fueled the fire by sending Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade, leaving their roster worse off than it was when the offseason began.
Could Denver's mismanagement around Jokić since winning the title, most recently seen with Watson, be enough for the superstar to think about life elsewhere? If it were, no one should blame him, but then again, this is Jokić we're talking about. If he repeatedly said he wants to stay with the Nuggets, it's probably because he means it, but the door is still cracked open.
Nikola Jokic to the.. Celtics?
Boston truly believes trading Brown was the right thing to do. While George isn't an upgrade over JB, he can still thrive within Joe Mazzulla's system. The thing is, though, no matter how well George will do in green, he's still 36 years old. Jayson Tatum is 28, so those timelines obviously don't match up.
If the Celtics want to do with Tatum what the Nuggets have failed to do with Jokić, which is win another championship, they could soon learn that George isn't the player who will help them get there, but the assets they got along with him in the trade could help them get someone who will. That realization could come before the deadline, or over the summer, after the season ends.
It's too early to know who will or won't be available, but we do know Jokić can decline his $62.8 million player option and become an unrestricted free agent. Or, if he decides he wants to leave Denver, he could give the Nuggets a parting gift by opting in and letting them help facilitate a trade that gets them something in return.
I would say that unless Boston makes a title run with George and Brown, it shouldn't pursue Jokić, but even then, he's worth going after.
And even if Denver doesn't make a deep playoff run with Jokić after getting ousted in the first round this past year, the center could still re-sign with the Nuggets if he's content staying where he is. They haven't really done anything to boost their chances of winning again, other than hurting them, and if that ends up mattering more to him than it seems, we could be in for a fun 2027 summer.
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