The Denver Nuggets could have built a real dynasty.
The draft system in place in the NBA creates plenty of parity. Teams rise into a contender and fall into a lottery team in cycles. Drafting well is the only real way to build a dynasty, given the cost of buying a contending roster.
The Denver Nuggets were nearly able to do just that — build a dynasty. They’ve got a generational talent in Nikola Jokic. They drafted players like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., both of which who are capable of playing up to a star talent, though they’re not All-Star players.
Had the team landed another perennial All-Star, not even a superstar, the Nuggets could have had a dynasty on their hands rather than the lone title they secured. They nearly landed Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, however.
The Nuggets were eyeing Doncic before the draft, and they knew certain clubs weren’t real fond of him.
The Sacramento Kings and Vlade Divac, in particular, weren’t going to look at drafting the Slovenian talent. The Nuggets knew that, and they were reportedly looking to move up in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Per Mike Singer on The Hoop Collective podcast: “The Nuggets knew that Vlade Divac was not particularly high on Luka Doncic. And they had designs on pairing Nikola Jokic with Luka Doncic.
“On draft night in 2018, they tried. There was a call placed. There was a proposal and the Nuggets attempted to get the No. 2 pick for Gary Harris and two first round picks was what I was told.”
The price tag is certainly an interesting one, but considering the organization drafted Marvin Bagley, who didn’t pan out in the NBA, they could have easily made such a trade. They weren’t eager to move on from Murray, though.
Evidently, things worked out for Denver. They captured a title, which wouldn’t have been guaranteed had they made a big-time trade. For a franchise, a title is everything, so there might be a limit on the regret they feel for not landing Doncic.
Again, Denver captured a title, but there are plenty of what-ifs along their journey. After reporting details about the club nearly pairing Doncic with Jokic, Singer brought to life the what-if surrounding Jrue Holiday, a current Boston Celtics guard.
To this point, Holiday has helped the Milwaukee Bucks — who the New Orleans Pelicans originally traded the guard to — to a championship alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. He did the same with the Celtics a season ago. He would have done the same alongside Jokic. And it nearly happened.
“This has never been reported… The Nuggets were close, closer than ever been known, to landing Jrue Holiday. Before New Orleans ended up trading Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee, the Nuggets tried,” Singer said on the show.
“And they were very close. My assumption is they were closer on Jrue, than the one we just talked about [Doncic]. The Jrue Holiday trade was very real, it [would have] ultimately meant Aaron Gordon doesn’t come to Denver, that ultimately, do the Nuggets need to apologize for not trading for Jrue Holiday because they won the championship.”
Again, plenty would have been different had the team landed Holiday. The acquisition of Gordon might not have happened, and his defense and vertical spacing were crucial in their championship run. They might not have ended up raising the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The Nuggets were also interested in acquiring LeBron James before he signed with the Lakers, but did not manage to secure a deal.
There are no regrets after winning a championship, and there shouldn’t be. What-ifs are thrown out of the window the second a team wins a title.
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