The unfortunate knee injury to Nikola Jokic comes at a tough time for the Nuggets, as they’re already missing three starters and now likely won’t get a good chance to look at their full rotation ahead of the February 5th NBA trade deadline. Still, whatever plan the Denver front office had in mind is the one they should stick to.
Circumstances aren’t ideal, but this is the hand they’ve been dealt, and they are going to have to make tough decisions. The NBA moves quickly and waits for nobody. The Nuggets have a tight title window with Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. Sure, this is a new iteration of the team, but there’s no time to waste.
The expectation is championship or bust every season Jokic is in Denver, and a knee bruise shouldn’t change that. So while it would be easy to focus on the short term and life without Jokic, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun, Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace need to take a macro approach and keep their eyes on the ultimate prize.
Winning in the regular season is great, but winning in the postseason is all that matters. The Nuggets need to be fully operational once the postseason begins and ready to solve any puzzle they may encounter. If that means adding pieces at the deadline or via the buyout market, then that’s what must be done.
Nuggets can’t overreact or underreact with roster moves
The Nuggets shouldn’t seek short term band aids. They are just going to have to live with a tough month of January, but any moves made should be with the playoffs in mind. At the end of the day, it’s all about winning titles, and whatever gives the Nuggets the best chance of doing that is the right move.
Any moves they were planning to make or not to make, they should still make accordingly, and not consider the fact that Jokic will miss several weeks. If the decision makes sense for a fully healthy Nuggets team, then great. If not, it shouldn’t be done. It’s that simple.
Realistically, if Jokic and the rest of the stars aren’t fully healthy and ready to go, nothing else matters anyway. This isn’t a time to get cute or push tough decisions down the road. It’s time to act decisively and make sure that when Jokic does return, the rest of the team is optimized for another run at glory.