Nikola Jokic just said what Nuggets fans need to hear about Peyton Watson trade

There is a good chance that, if you're reading this, you've been on a bit of a spiral since learning that the Denver Nuggets agreed to a sign-and-trade, sending Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers. You might have even started convincing yourself that Cleveland will regret giving the 23-year-old a four-year, $88 million deal based on a small sample size, but if you're still stuck in doom and gloom, there is no one better to snatch you out of it than Nikola Jokić.

Jokić is with the Serbian national team, preparing for the FIBA World Cup European qualifiers. On Thursday, Serbia played the first of two friendly competitions against France. Miroslav Ćuk was in attendance, and after what happened last night, he got the superstar's thoughts on the Watson trade, and he was kind enough to provide a translation.

Of course, Jokić is happy for Watson. A young player whom he watched grow over the past four years secured his future and got the kind of payday he was looking for. It would've been nice if P-Wat had gotten that payday in Denver, but that doesn't diminish how big of a moment it is for the forward as he takes the next step in his career.

What fans needed to hear, especially, though, was Jokić saying that while he's not focused on the NBA season yet, it'll be okay.

Jokic gives his thoughts on the Peyton Watson trade

Look, you already knew that there was a chance that Watson would leave Denver this offseason. The longer it went without a deal, the more likely that became. A sizable gap remained between what P-Wat wanted (something similar to the $25 million annual average Christian Braun got) and what the Nuggets offered: $70 million over four seasons.

Denver had already been engaging in sign-and-trade discussions with teams, so it's not like the deal came out of nowhere. The Nuggets clearly didn't want to pay Watson what the Cavaliers offered, so they let him go in a deal centered around a 2031 unprotected first-round pick from Cleveland and a 2032 second-round pick via Sacramento. That was worth more to them than going deeper into the second tax apron.

Whether that will prove the right decision is still uncertain, but Denver looks bad because it didn't get the high-level player it wanted in return. As things currently stand, the Nuggets are in a worse position than they were when the offseason began after losing Watson.

Denver isn't in an ideal position, but if you're trying to be positive, at least Jokić is still Jokić, aka one of the best players in the world. And if he thinks the Nuggets will be okay, maybe they will.

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