No one in Denver is actually shopping Nikola Jokić, and Jokić hasn’t asked out. Still, his decision to hold off on an extension for a second straight offseason has left the door cracked just enough for people to start daydreaming about the unthinkable, especially with his $62.8 million player option for 2027-28 hanging out there.
That was the setup on the latest episode of the "Third Apron Podcast," where Yossi Gozlan and Sam Quinn talked through what it might take for the Nuggets to even consider a Jokić deal if he were to opt in. Quinn didn’t dance around it.
"It's Dylan Harper. If the Spurs would give up Dylan Harper, I would do it, and they wouldn't, so."
That’s the whole conversation in a nutshell.
Harper is exactly the kind of young talent Denver would demand in a Jokić trade, and then some. But San Antonio is not about to move him, not for a player as great as the three-time MVP and not after the way the Spurs just surged to an NBA Finals run.
If the franchise were staring down a win-now emergency with Victor Wembanyama, maybe the discussion would be different. It isn’t.
Harper turned 20 in March and put together a strong five-game Finals showing, averaging 18 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 31 minutes while shooting 49.3% from the field. That kind of production makes the answer pretty simple: he’s not going anywhere.
The idea of Jokić leaving Denver is still more plausible than San Antonio moving Harper after only his second NBA season, even though Jokić has repeatedly said he wants to stay with the Nuggets. Until anything becomes official next summer, there’s always some room for uncertainty.
Denver could fall short again in the playoffs, and that would fuel the noise. But the safer bet is still to trust what Jokić has said.
The same logic applies in San Antonio. The Spurs have no interest in dealing Harper, even if he hits a sophomore slump and his value dips a bit. He’d have to fall off a cliff for them to even entertain it.
And unlike most of the league, the Spurs don’t need to chase a Jokić trade in the first place. A few teams - including the Thunder and Knicks - might view it differently, but San Antonio is already ahead of schedule. Wembanyama is the obvious centerpiece of that rise, but Harper has earned his share of the credit too.
In Other News...
Aaron Gordon Carries Denvers Biggest Preseason Concern
The Nuggets are heading into preseason with one of their most important questions centered on Aaron Gordon, whose availability was a problem in the first-round playoff loss to Minnesota. Denvers early exit exposed how much the team leans on Gordons two-way presence, especially when the rotation tightens and the margins shrink in the postseason. With the offseason behind him and the new year about to begin, the focus around camp has shifted from what went wrong in the spring to how reliable the frontcourt can be when the games start to matter again.
Gordons health is only part of the backdrop for a Nuggets team trying to sort out its next steps around Nikola Jokic and the rest of the roster. DeMar DeRozan is part of the broader conversation, and Jokic has been open about how uneasy he is with celebrity even as his profile keeps rising. For Denver, preseason is usually about rhythm and fit, but this one carries a little more weight because so much depends on whether Gordon can stay on the floor and help stabilize the team from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Gordon Just Put Denvers Rotation Crunch In The Spotlight
Aaron Gordon spent part of his basketball camp in Lakewood this week sounding like a veteran who understands the business side of the league as well as the basketball side. He talked about Peyton Watsons sign-and-trade to Cleveland, his own offseason work and recent conversations with Nikola Jokic, all while framing the move as the kind of decision a young player makes when a different situation offers more minutes and a better paycheck.
For the Nuggets, the bigger takeaway was Gordon putting a spotlight on just how crowded the roster picture already looks before training camp really gets going. After an injury-marred season, he said he feels ready to be back on the floor, but the conversation around Denver keeps circling back to who fits, who plays and how the team sorts out its depth in a season where every rotation spot may matter. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Still Face One Big Question After Peyton Watson Exit
Peyton Watsons departure in the 2026 offseason marked another reminder of how carefully the Nuggets have had to balance sentiment with roster construction. Aaron Gordon made clear he was behind Watson, stressing the bond they built and wishing him well in his new spot, even as Denver moved to keep Cameron Johnson in the name of financial flexibility and reshaped the bench by bringing in DeMar DeRozan.
Watsons exit leaves the Nuggets with a familiar kind of question, the sort that comes with any move made for cap reasons: whether the cost-cutting choice will hold up once the season starts and the rotation tightens. Denver did not stand still after the trade, but replacing a player with Watsons role and upside is never just about adding another name, and the answer may not be obvious until the group starts playing meaningful games. [Read more 🡒]