Luka Doncic recruiting Nikola Jokic to join Mavs?

The friendship between Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is seldom discussed.

For whatever reason, there appears to be a universal assumption that superstar center Nikola Jokic will remain with the Denver Nuggets for the remainder of his career.

However, with Dallas Mavericks franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic seeming to recruit Jokic to the Mavericks on Tuesday, there’s now reason to suspect that Jokic being a lifelong Nugget shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion:

“I can’t trade anyone,” Doncic coyly responds when asked about the possibility of playing with Jokic. “It’s not my job. If Jokic wants to come over, he should come over. He knows he wants to.”

Interestingly enough, Doncic and Jokic are friends — part of the conglomerate of European NBA players known as the ‘Bloc Party’ or ‘Balkan Boys’ — and have a mutual respect for one another’s games. Where Doncic calls Jokic “an amazing player,” Jokic says Doncic “has extreme potential and is extremely talented.”

Even on camera, the two have a natural chemistry not unlike that of an older and younger brother.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1230960386523815937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1230960386523815937%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.talkbasket.net%2F71044-nikola-jokic-jokes-around-with-luka-doncic-on-the-bus-during-the-nba-all-star-weekend-video

Considering that Jokic is under contract with the Nuggets until 2023 after signing a five-year, $147.7 million contract with Denver in 2018, none of this should worry Nuggets fans just yet. The only path for Dallas to acquire Jokic before he’s 28-years-old is to trade for Jokic and it’s highly improbable that Denver makes such a move.

With Jokic eligible for a supermax contract from the Nuggets when that time comes, there’s also the possibility that the Joker chooses to stay in Denver.

Unfortunately, the same can be true for Nuggets fans that dream of a Doncic-Jokic pairing in Denver. The Mavericks would be as unmotivated to trade their superstar as the Nuggets would and with Doncic on-deck to sign a max extension that keeps him in Dallas, these two friends may find their career paths keep them apart.

It’s eerily similar to the Banana Boat Brothers — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.

Although there was an obvious desire for them to team up, only James and Wade managed to align their contracts in such a way that they could become teammates. Much like James and Paul, or James and Anthony, Jokic and Doncic may be fated to be best friends that don’t team up.

There’s the small chance that they’re more like James and Wade. But, even in that scenario, there’s as good a chance that Doncic comes to Denver as Jokic goes to Dallas.

All that said, it’s quite easy to see the appeal of these two triple-double machines joining forces, being the best Euro tandem in NBA history. Players from all over the league would flock to play with these two because they know they’ll be playing in a free-flowing, unselfish offensive system.

Because of that, perhaps the Nuggets need to keep a play for Doncic in their back pocket.

They already have a roster and collection of talent that would appeal to both Luka and the Mavericks.