Sunday’s blockbuster trade involving Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis taught us that anything is possible in the NBA.
While there’s an extraordinarily slim chance the New York Knicks will swap superstars with the Denver Nuggets this season, it’s a fascinating idea to consider.
“If this scenario comes true (Karl Anthony-Towns, Miles McBride, and two future first-round picks to the Nuggets for Nikola Jokic), it would be equivalent to the Knicks hitting a basketball lottery,” Fadeaway World’s Ishaan Bhattacharya wrote Tuesday.
“Not only is Nikola Jokic the best player in the NBA, he might be the perfect big man for everything the Knicks need.”
“He has a strong defensive core around him already and can greatly improve the quality of offense in New York by being the primary playmaker they lack.”
“Jokic is averaging 29.5 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.3 assists this season. He’s an easy MVP frontrunner, so I don’t need to explain why he’d be perfect for the Knicks.”
Without Jokic, the Nuggets would struggle to keep pace in the Western Conference.
Jokic’s ability to execute effortless jump hooks after winning positioning battles, handle the ball on the perimeter, drastically improve his long-range shooting, rebound with the best of them, and distribute at a ridiculously high level make him the No. 1 player in the league.
The NBA champion center averages a triple-double while shooting 46.6% from downtown in Year 10.
On the other hand, the Knicks have an uber-talented center of their own in Towns.
The versatile big man capable of drilling step-back triples like a guard, getting physical in the low post, exploding to the rim 30+ feet away from the basket, and elevating for contested rebounds is enjoying an exceptional 2024-25 campaign in New York.
The former Timberwolves superstar averages 24.3 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest, shooting 52.3% from the field and 41.9% from long-range.
That said, there’s no doubt that trading for Jokic would provide the franchise with the most well-rounded asset in the NBA, giving them a better shot of dethroning the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
The only problem is, well, there’s no world where the Nuggets would cut ties with an irreplaceable contributor in Jokic who could help Denver win multiple titles in the future.
Yes, Jokic did state that no player is safe after witnessing the wildest trade in NBA history, but the Nuggets’ front office would never be able to show their faces in Denver again if they ever gave their prized 6-foot-11 asset the Doncic treatment.
Let’s say that Bhattacharya is reaching with his absurdly unrealistic trade proposal.
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