Are the Golden State Warriors making a play for Denver Nuggets superstar and newly-crowned league Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic? One of their most recent offseason moves seems to imply that they have at least taken this into consideration.
According to The Athletic's Anthony Slater, the Warriors are set to hire Jokic's former coach in Serbia, Dejan Milojevic, as part of Steve Kerr's coaching staff. Milojevic coached Jokic early in his career and is credited for “some of Jokic’s foundational basketball grooming.” If the Dubs are somehow looking to bring Jokic to Golden State in what is undoubtedly going to be one of the biggest blockbuster moves in league history, then this could be a good first step in that direction.
To be clear, the Nuggets are not in any position to even listen to trade offers for their prized star. It is clear that they consider the Serbian to be their cornerstone superstar and that they intend to build around him for years to come. It is worth noting, however, that Jokic currently has two more years remaining in his contract which means that Denver will need to extend his deal in the near future. Needless to say, that's going to require the Nuggets to dig deep into their pockets for what could be a franchise-record deal.
However, if for some reason Jokic feels like his time in Denver has come to an end, then he could always force a move away from the Nuggets. This has become quite commonplace in the league right now, with stars now possessing the power to dictate their future. Jokic just won the MVP award with the Nuggets and it looks like he's more than happy in Denver. Then again, their second-round sweep by the Phoenix Suns could always cast some doubt on how Jokic views his future with the team.
If he actually decides to part ways with Denver then it would likely be for a team with championship aspirations. Do the aging Warriors fit that bill? Absolutely. Is this actually something that will come to fruition? Probably not.
For a bit of perspective though, the Los Angeles Lakers have taken a bit of a similar approach in their rumored quest to bring Giannis Antetokounmpo to Hollywood. Not only did they hire Giannis' former coach in Jason Kidd, but they took it a step further by bringing on Giannis' brother, Kostas Antetokoumpo, to LA. Sure you can argue that both moves had nothing to do with Giannis, but then again, you also can't completely count out the fact that they do, right?
Going back to Milojevic, the more logical reasoning behind the Warriors' decision to bring him on as an assistant coach seems to be related to the future of James Wiseman with the squad. There have been rumors of the Dubs looking to trade their young center in order to add more pieces to their current win-now core, but this move seems to prove otherwise. If Milojevic can work his magic on Wiseman then we could be looking at Golden State's big man of the future. He may not reach Jokic's level anytime soon, but if you think about it, Wiseman definitely has cornerstone potential.
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