And just like that, the door has realistically swung open to the prospects of LeBron James pairing up with Nikola Jokic in Denver on a minimum contract. Suddenly, running back mostly the same roster seems like a great option for the Denver Nuggets. The dream of pairing two basketball legends together while also upgrading the wing position would be impossible to pass up, and the Nuggets have a decent outside chance of making it happen.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported the good news that LeBron is likely willing to play on a minimum contract because LeBron wants to win.
"He's (LeBron) not going to make his decision just based on money. It means that all these teams, whether you have the minimum contract to give him, whether you have the exception to give him, or salary cap space, you're going to be involved."
But, wait! There's more! ESPN's Brian Windhorst has also put the Nuggets on the board as an "outlier" team.
"I have long believed that if there was an outlier team for LeBron, if he was willing to take sort of, you know, some exception, it was Denver."
Start connecting the dots, and there's a trail here. Plus, Windhorst went on to say that LeBron is even a close friend of the Nuggets team president, Josh Kroenke. Hopefully, the connection is strong enough because the Nuggets could absolutely use LeBron, especially at the minimum value.
LeBron checks off nearly all of the Nuggets offseason needs
As far as basketball goes, LeBron would be a huge get to pair alongside Jokic. The two smartest basketball IQ players playing together are awfully enticing in their own right. But when you think about the other immediate upgrades, it's hard not to get excited about the thought of LeBron playing in the Mile High City.
The Nuggets needed to get more athletic for starters, and that's obviously solved. And for a wing with size, LeBron would be an instant upgrade in the ball-handling area as well. Size on the wing? Solved. Can LeBron shoot? Of course, he can, and like anyone else playing alongside the best basketball player in the world, LeBron will probably get more open looks, and he could get back to the 41.0% he shot from three in 2023-24 after a declining year saw him finish at 31.7% in what will now be his final season in Los Angeles.
The one thing that LeBron doesn't do as well is defense. But if we compare the free agent loss of Tim Hardaway Jr. to a free agent gain in LeBron, the defense is upgraded, too.
Of course, the Nuggets aren't the only team expected to be courting LeBron and preparing a plan that shows the team is ready to contend. The Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers are the expected front-runners for James' services next season, with Shams reporting that up to 12 teams have reached out to LeBron's agent.
Nuggets fans will hope for the inside track with LeBron's possible future boss as the winning scenario. Playing alongside Joker should be the cherry on top for LeBron.
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