If a butterfly flaps its wings in Denver does it cause a hurricane in Los Angeles?
On Tuesday, the Nuggets’ first and only championship head coach, Michael Malone, was unceremoniously relieved of his duties — along with GM Calvin Booth — with just three games to go in the regular season, sparking a potential domino effect that could see three-time MVP Nikola Jokic sensationally land in La La Land.
Jokic, the man who was famously drafted during a Taco Bell commercial and has the highest PER in basketball history, is reportedly not a happy camper.
The Serbian superstar is the consensus best player in the world and, along with Thunder phenom Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is joint favorite to win the MVP award for the fourth time this season after averaging 30.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game.
But the fourth-seeded Nuggets’ slow and steady slide this season, particularly on the defensive side of the floor (Denver were eighth in defensive rating in 2023-24 [112.3]) has privately frustrated the 6ft 11in do-it-all center.
“League sources said there had been significant frustration within the locker room at how the Nuggets were playing, particularly defensively,” The Athletic reported after Malone’s firing.
“The Nuggets were just 20th in defensive rating. Jokic has been frustrated with the team’s defensive commitment and performance this season.”
Jokic’s ascent from unheralded European prospect to a top-five big man ever and the best center Steve Kerr has ever seen is one of the great stories of the modern NBA.
The man who prefers to talk horses over hoops is the antithesis of what the current NBA star is supposed to be like.
Unassuming, unpretentious….Ordinary.
However, on the court, Jokic is anything but ordinary; a Frankenstein-esque blend of size, skill, vision, IQ, passing ability, and shooting touch that somehow magically comes together to form one unstoppable 284lb basketball monster.
Once upon a time, being mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan and equalling Wilt Chamberlain records was a rarity — now, it’s something Mr Triple-Double does on a near nightly basis.
For the longest time, Jokic’s fit with Denver made about as much sense as apple pie on the Fourth of July, and it was in Colorado where the 30-year-old made a name for himself — first as an All-Star, then as an MVP and, finally, a champion and Finals MVP.
But the Nuggets dynasty failed to lift off after raising their first world championship banner in 2023, and their decision to blow everything up on the eve of this season’s playoffs threatens to alienate their greatest ever player.
The best way to keep superstars happy is by putting others superstars around them, something the Nuggets have spectacularly failed to do.
Out of all the MVP’s ever, Jokic is the only one who’s never had a teammate that made an All-NBA Defensive Team, All-Star Team, or an All-NBA Team.
To make matters worse, the Nuggets’ roster is getting worse, not better, as time goes on.
It’s becoming increasingly apparent Denver are wasting a generational talent’s prime, and fans have speculated that Malone’s shock dismissal could spell the beginning of the end of Joker’s time in Denver.
After securing their first win under interim head coach David Adelman, a 124-116 victory over Sacramento where Jokic appeared to play coach at one point, the Nuggets superstar opened up about the firings of both coach and GM.
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Jokic revealed that he was informed of the decision ahead of time, as team owner Josh Kroenke told him they had made the choice to part ways with both.
“I knew a little bit before everybody,” Jokic said.
“And (Josh Kroenke) told me, ‘We made a decision.’ So it was not a discussion. It was a decision, and he told me why. So I listened and I accept it.”
He added: “People say that we were vulnerable, but the beast is always the most dangerous when they’re vulnerable. Maybe he woke up the beast.”
There has been no indication yet from Jokic that he wants out. Right now, his focus will be on wrapping up the regular season and preparing for the postseason.
But things can change quickly in The Association — look no further than Luka Doncic‘s stunning’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers in February that Mavericks fans still haven’t forgiven GM Nico Harrison for (and maybe never will).
Following Malone’s departure, it’s Luka’s Lakers that have unknowingly entered the sweepstakes as Jokic’s next landing spot.
Chemistry is unlikely to be an issue. There’s already a “genuine fondness” between Doncic and Jokic, who have blazed a similar trail for Europeans and shattered expectations for overseas players.
When Doncic missed this year’s All-Star Game, Jokic commented, “It’s weird because we always have a good night before the game.”
The Nuggets center was also in support of Doncic’s trade to LA, calling it ‘good for the league’.
But any prospective move for Jokic, as fantastical as it may seem, likely hinges on LeBron James.
Some believe LA must wait for LeBron’s decision to retire from the 17-time world champs to have any shot at landing a unicorn like Jokic.
Others suggest The King could sacrifice some money, at least for one season, to form a veritable Big Three with Doncic and Jokic for one final run at ring number five.
The Last Dance Part Deux.
For now, Jokic remains locked into a five-year, $276 million supermax deal he signed with Denver in 2023.
It means he is currently under contract through the 2026-27 season with a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. The only real way for the Lakers to land Jokic before he hits free agency is if agitates for a move, in which case the Nuggets would have to consider letting him go as they’d likely receive a massive haul.
One bookmaker has already pitched a trade that would send Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dalton Knecht, a 2031 first-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick swap to the Nuggets for Jokic in order to make it happen.
Whether the Lakers are willing to deal such a package, especially when Reaves is showing genuine signs of being a legitimate third option on a championship-caliber roster, remains to be seen.
For LA, it’s a no brainer.
The Lakers, and Los Angeles, are entities built on star power.
Wilt, Magic, Kareem, Kobe, Shaq, LeBron, and Luka all succumbed to the allure of the NBA’s most famous franchise. Only time will tell if Jokic similarly falls pray to Tinseltown’s intoxicating lure.
But 40-year-old LeBron can only defy Father Time for so long and sooner or later he’s going to have to pass the torch.
If the Lakers can effectively replace him with a generational star like Jokic, they’re set up for at least the next five years to compete with their best one-two punch since the days of Kobe and Shaq.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will be licking his lips at the prospect of a resurgent Lakers carried by two future Hall of Famers in Doncic and Jokic.
Viewership for the entire NBA is down around 48 percent since 2012 while NBA games on ESPN are down 28 percent from last season as the league continues to struggle to attract eyeballs.
As Outkick reports, four of the five lowest-rated NBA Finals of the past 30 years have occurred in the past four years. (11.64 million viewers in 2024, 12.4 million viewers in 2022, 9.91 million viewers in 2021, 7.45 million viewers in 2020.)
This downward swing compares unfavourable to other sports which, in stark contrast to the NBA, are seeing a surge in interest.
Virtually ever other pro American sports league, including the NFL, MLB, and WNBA, are setting ratings records while interest around the NBA wanes.
It’s a worrying trend, not just for the NBA, but for the likes of NBC, Disney, and Amazon, who have collectively forked out $76 billion as part of a landmark TV deal which will see them air all of the NBA’s nationally televised games over the next 11 years.
The NBA evidently has a product issue on its hands, whether it wants to admit it or not, but mercurial stars and intense rivalries can go some way to repairing that problem.
During a time where the championship Celtics are the preeminent force in the Eastern Conference, the prospect of a Doncic-Jokic axis going head to head with Tatum, Brown, and co. for the foreseeable future has the potential to arrest the NBA’s worrying decline and inject some much needed life into The Association.
The NBA is at its undeniable best when the two franchises who share 35 world championships are at the peak of their powers.
Wilt and Russell proved that in the ’60s
Magic Johnson ‘Showtime’ Lakers and Larry Bird‘s Celtics saved the NBA in the ’80s.
Kobe Bryant‘s fierce battles with Kevin Garnett and Boston’s ‘Big Four’ defined the late ’00s and early ’10s.
Perhaps the next instalment in that historic rivalry is destined to be contested with the Joker and Luka Magic running point in the iconic purple and gold.
