NBA Mock Trade: Denver Nuggets Send Nikola Jokic To Los Angeles Lakers
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Over recent seasons, even the most outlandish NBA trades have come to fruition. Last season, the Luka Doncic trade taught fans that no player is untouchable. But if a player was untouchable, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is as close as it gets.
The three-time MVP has finished top-two in voting for the award in each of the last five seasons. He also helped the Nuggets to a championship and routinely leads his club to the playoffs.
Will Jokic ever be traded? It’s unlikely, but not impossible. Earlier this offseason, new team president Josh Kroenke hinted at a scenario that could see Jokic moved, should a major injury strike Denver’s rotation. This caused mass hysteria from NBA fans, even stirring up some trade rumors along the way.
Over previous years, Jokic and Doncic have each discussed the idea of playing alongside one another during their time in the NBA. Here’s a potential trade to get Jokic to the Los Angeles Lakers, making such a union possible.
Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers Mock Trade
Denver Nuggets receive LeBron James, Bronny James, 2026 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick, 2031 first-round pick swap
Los Angeles Lakers receive Nikola Jokic
To pull off a trade of this magnitude, not only would it cost the Lakers the league’s all-time leading scorer, but three first-round picks and a first-round pick swap in 2031. L.A. mortgages a significant chunk of their future, but pieces together one of the top star pairings in league history.
Jokic and Doncic have already built notable rapport and are good friends on and off the court. This duo could set the Lakers up for title contention for at least the next half-decade.
It’s unlikely LeBron James would waive his no trade clause for such a deal, unless the Nuggets agreed to a buyout to give the four-time MVP his choice for his final NBA destination. For sake of argument, we’ll focus on the Doncic-Jokic pairing, operating under the assumption that James would be bought out.
In L.A., both Jokic and Doncic form a seamless pairing and likely wouldn’t see much, if any, dip in production. Now on the same team, the pair remain two of the most coveted players in fantasy basketball given the immense offensive upside.
Why The Nuggets Make The Trade
As Kroenke said, it would take a disaster to force a Jokic trade, unless the star big man voiced frustrations to the front office. Denver has retooled around Jokic this offseason, but back-to-back second-round exits hint at signs of roster regression.
With a new head coach in the building, things could become turbulent in Denver should the team come up short in the postseason yet again. If the recent trend continues, Denver could have no choice if its star asks out.
Why The Lakers Make The Trade
No team has swung for the fences more over the past seven years than the Lakers. Rob Pelinka has brought in James, Doncic and Anthony Davis to name a few, which yielded the team a championship in 2019-20, led by the duo of James and Davis.
With LeBron James entering what could be his final NBA season, the front office could work its magic once more to get a return for the 2019-20 Finals MVP.
Bringing in arguably the league’s best player is another massive swing from L.A.’s front office, but this could have the greatest payoff. There’s no ceiling on what the Lakers could accomplish with Jokic and Doncic leading the way. The pair would form one of the most dominant offensive tandems of all time and would surely be ecstatic to suit up alongside one another donning the Purple and Gold.
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Ethen Hutton is a MLB, WNBA, College, and Fantasy contributor at On SI. Previously, he's covered the NBA, WNBA and NFL for Sportskeeda. Hutton is also a passionate fantasy football player and an immense music lover.