Alright so this all started last night when I was scrolling through Twitter around midnight – bad habit, I know – and bam! Saw this wild headline about Nikola Jokic maybe getting traded. My first thought? “No freaking way.” But it kept popping up in my feed, so I figured screw it, let’s dive in and see what’s actually going on. Grabbed my laptop and a cold coffee leftover from dinner.
First thing I did was fire up a bunch of tabs like ESPN, Bleacher Report, even some random fan forums where the real nuts hang out. Couldn’t find any official sources saying Denver was shopping him. Just a whole lot of noise, mostly from folks screaming into the void about “what if” scenarios. Started thinking maybe this whole thing was cooked up because some podcast host had too much time and caffeine.
Reaching Out to My Hoops Buddies
I texted two buddies – one works in marketing for a small NBA team, the other writes for a sports blog. Asked them straight up: “Is there ANY smoke here?” Took a shower while waiting, scrolling news on my phone like a maniac with shampoo in my eyes.
Got replies within the hour:
- Guy #1 (Team marketing): “Lmao. Denver would burn down the Pepsi Center before trading Joker. He IS that franchise. This ain’t happening unless he demands out, and dude loves horses more than basketball.”
- Guy #2 (Sports blogger): “Pure clickbait season fuel. Only ‘experts’ pushing this are talking heads desperate for hot takes. Salary cap alone makes this insane. Joker’s contract is a mountain.”
Poking at the Big Roadblocks
Okay, so why wouldn’t a trade happen? Let me lay it out how I see it after chewing on this mess:
- That monster contract: Joker’s supermax? Forget unloading it. Teams need to match salary which means gutting half the roster. Who does that?
- He ain’t unhappy: Dude signed the deal, loves Colorado, looks genuinely lost trying to avoid MVP trophies. Zero signs he wants out.
- Denver ain’t dumb: Seriously. You build your entire team around a generational talent for years… then trade him because ESPN needs a slow news day story? Come on.
- Return would be garbage: Even if they did trade him… what team gives up their future AND fits his salary? Nobody. Denver gets worse instantly. Makes zero basketball sense.
Went down a rabbit hole reading “trade machine” articles where people force trades just to see if possible. Found exactly zero scenarios where Denver doesn’t get completely screwed or some GM gets fired instantly. Laughed at one suggesting the Knicks swap Julius Randle and a sack of picks. Yeah, right.
The Expert Noise – Mostly Static
Checked out some big analysts. Stephen A. Smith? Yelling like always but admitted it’s “unlikely.” Woj? Dropped a two-line tweet basically calling it a “hypothetical exercise with no traction.” Felt like I spent three hours confirming my original gut feeling: This ain’t happening. At least not right now. Finished my cold coffee feeling kinda stupid for wasting time, but hey, had to know for sure.
Wrapped it all up realizing trades like this only happen when the star forces it or a franchise utterly implodes. Denver is winning. Joker’s happy. Just the off-season hype machine churning smoke pretending there’s fire. Sometimes, the loudest rumors are the dumbest. Lesson learned… probably won’t stop me from clicking the next crazy headline though. Old habits.
