After winning the 2023 NBA Championship, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets fell well short of preseason expectations in 2024, falling in the second round of the playoffs to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The offseason has been a mixed bag so far for the Nuggets, with the team losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope but adding Russell Westbrook. But it seems Denver is eyeing another potential backcourt piece down the line.
While Jamal Murray has solidly positioned himself as the team's starting point guard, who can provide the ever-valuable bench minutes at the two guard positions is always a question for the Nuggets. Westbrook, a former league MVP who transformed into an energetic reserves leader with the Los Angeles Clippers, could very well provide the same role, although the Nuggets are reportedly interested in adding a player who has a strong connection with Jokic.
Vasilije Micic, currently of the Charlotte Hornets, recently earned an Olympic bronze medal alongside Jokic as part of the Serbian national team, and Micic could provide an interesting option for the Nuggets. Micic and Jokic played together on Mega, a club in Belgrade, from 2012 to 2014 before Micic departed for Bayern Munich. Jokic left the club a year later to join the Nuggets.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Nuggets could be a destination for Micic, although Denver may not make the move due to the salary implications.
“With a salary of $7.7 million this season and an $8.1 million team option in 2025-26, Vasilije Micić continues to be mentioned as a potential down-the-road trade target for Denver given Micic's close relationship with Nuggets star Nikola Jokić,” Stein reported. “Bear in mind, though, Denver is just $5 million or so shy of the second luxury tax apron and thus couldn't absorb Micić's contract without dreaded second-apron complications. The Hornets could also elect to keep Micić around to play behind former All-Star LaMelo Ball.”
Nuggets' Nikola Jokic and Hornets' Vasilije Micic MVP roots
In addition to their common background, Nikola Jokic and Vasilije Micic are also each former MVPs; Jokic a three-time winner of the NBA MVP, while Micic won the 2021 EuroLeague MVP and won the Final Four MVP in 2021 and 2022 while leading Anadolu Efes to back-to-back titles.
Micic, 29 at the time, decided to make a move to the NBA in the 2023 offseason and signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, to whom the Philadelphia 76ers traded his draft rights. Despite inking a three-year deal worth more than $23 million, Micic saw little playing time with the Thunder, who surprisingly became one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
After averaging just 12.0 minutes per game in Oklahoma City, Micic was traded to Charlotte, where he began to prove his value to an NBA team. With the Hornets, Micic assumed a starting role in LaMelo Ball's absence and averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 assists in 27.2 minutes per game.
Micic again starred during the Olympic Games, where he was Serbia's third-leading scorer (behind Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic) and averaged the second-most assists (behind Jokic). Serbia gave the United States its toughest test of the tournament, nearly defeating the Americans in the semifinals, a game in which Micic underperformed (8 points, 3 assists, 3/10 FG, 2/7 3PT). Micic was on his game in the bronze-medal meeting with Germany, though, scoring 19 points, the same as Jokic, who capped off the tournament with a triple-double.
Micic has one guaranteed year left on his deal with the Hornets, who can choose to exercise a club option in 2025.
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