"In My Country, Where I’m Coming From, After This Kind Of Stretch You’re Gonna Get A Paycheck That Is A Little Bit Less" - Nikola Jokic Has The Perfect Idea For How To Save The Nuggets Season

Stephen Gosling. Getty Images.

We may now be at the point where there needs to be some sort of NBA investigation into what is currently happening in the Mile High city. I'm not sure if Calvin Booth got way too high on his own supply following the 2023 NBA title or what, but what has transpired with pretty much every single decision immediately following that championship needs to be studied. 

To go from what looked to be the makings of a modern era dynasty……..to not even being able to beat the 2-18 Washington Wizards. These Wizards?

The thing is, this is all happening while Nikola Jokic is arguably having the best season of his already ridiculous NBA career! It's reached the point where it's not physically possible for him to do any more on a basketball court and none of it matters

THE MAN HAD 56 OF THE 122 FOR CHRIST SAKE

And yes, the Nuggets were without Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon in this game….but so what? So far this season Jamal Murray has done more harm on the floor than good, so it's not as if that's some sort of loss. Again, this is the 2-18 Wizards who hadn't won a game in a month and you got 56 POINTS from Nikola Jokic. That should be enough for pretty much 99.9% of NBA teams.

That's why I go back to Calvin Booth (and a little bit of Michael Malone for having an outdated offensive system). How do you waste the prime of an NBA great like this? Nikola Jokic is legitimately the easiest superstar on the planet to build around. I feel like it has to be impossible to mess that up, and yet here the Nuggets are at 11-10 and the 9th seed in the West while completely wasting another historic MVP-caliber season from their franchise player. If I were a Nuggets fan, this would have me beyond insane. 

The good news is Jokic has the perfect solution to this current problem. How do you change the direction of your franchise and make sure things don't truly spiral out of control? Easy

I think it's fair to suggest there are several (aka every single person not named Nikola Jokic) people associated with the Nuggets who haven't exactly earned their paycheck. If you want real change, hit people where it hurts. You start impacting someone's money, watch how quickly they change course. Unfortunately there's probably some CBA rules that prevent it, but that's bullshit. You should be able to smash the "we are wasting a generational talent" button and be able to do whatever you want if it means turning around your season. 

On some level, it has to kill Jokic inside to even make a joke like that. I know he gives off the impression that he'd never ask out or pull any of the standard NBA superstar playbook moves when they want to switch teams, but what if the Nuggets ultimately force his hand? I guess it just depends on what Jokic wants. Now that he has a ring and is already considered an all time great, maybe he just packs it up one day and heads back to Serbia? That would be wild. But what if he eventually does hit the market? Maybe not demand a trade, but not extend? We may not be there yet, but how many season of this do we think he's going to be willing to live through?

Listen, the NBA season is long as hell. There are ups and downs that teams go through all the time. Not everyone is a wire to wire wagon. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom before you flip the switch and go on a massive run. I lived it back in 2022 when the Celts went from 23-24 to the NBA Finals, and that team didn't have Nikola Jokic. For the Nuggets, I'm not sure it gets much more rock bottom than losing to the Wizards while Jokic puts up 56. That feels impossible, yet at the moment it's their reality.

If they aren't going to take money out of everyone's checks, then all those people should have to write a check to Jokic as an apology. Because right now, the entire franchise from top to bottom is letting him down.