4 Offseason moves Nuggets must make to quiet critics (and stay in contention)

Move no. 4) - Placate Nikola Jokic

And then we come to the big elephant in the room, Jokic, and his happiness. To this point, Jokic has been nothing but a good soldier and has not given the slightest indication that he is unhappy in any way whatsoever. He has never complained or even meddled, simply showing up and doing his job with zero drama.

But at a certain point, he must look around the league and realize his title window is closing and his own front office isn’t doing anything to stop it. Hopefully, he’s in lockstep with Calvin Booth and every part of every plan has been run by the Joker, but what if it hasn’t?

If next season goes poorly and the young players don’t develop, who’s to say Jokic won’t look around at what’s left in Denver and start thinking about greener pastures? He’d be crazy not to think about maximizing the prime years of his career and if the Nuggets won’t help him do that, maybe another team would.

Hopefully, this is just paranoia, but it can’t hurt to make a few concessions to keep the big man happy. For one, it sounds like he is pushing the team to add Russell Westbrook. That should be a no-brainer. He fills a huge need as a veteran backup point guard and one who will provide an infusion of energy.

If Jokic wants him, all the better. The team should make this happen and show that they are listening to their superstar. Beyond that, maybe go get one of his Serbian countrymen to join the team and hang out with Jokic on American soil, drinking rakia.

Micic was already mentioned in a possible swap for Nnaji so that one makes sense. If there is any way to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Hawks, the Nuggets should jump all over that. Or even any other players - they don’t have to be Serbian - that Jokic wants to play with. Let’s get ahead of this before it ever becomes an issue. Keep the face of the franchise as happy as possible for as long as possible; he deserves it.