In Perhaps One Of The Greatest NBA "What If's" Ever, The Nuggets Tried Like Hell To Trade For Luka Doncic On Draft Night Back In 2018
I dunno about anyone else, but I love a good old fashioned NBA "What If" story. Even though you always have to take things with a grain of salt when a story comes out that Team X really wanted Player Y and was so close to getting them once it was clear that Player Y ultimately became one of the best players on the planet, but it's still fun to think about.
Sort of like how last May we got a great one with Trae Young talking about Anthony Edwards was close to being on the Hawks, we now have one that might go down as one of the greatest "what ifs" in NBA What If history
"The Nuggets knew that Vlade Divac was not particularly high on Luka Doncic. And they had designs on pairing Nikola Jokic with Luka Doncic. On draft night in 2018, they tried. There was a call placed. There was a proposal and the Nuggets attempted to get the No. 2 pick for Gary Harris and two first round picks was what I was told.”
While some of these stories might be bullshit, I'm putting stock into this one because it reminds me of a blog I wrote back in September when it came to Vlade Divac and drafting Luka back in 2019.
So the idea that he wasn't in love with Luka at the Draft makes sense. If he was, he would have taken him.
Now, should the Nuggets have offered more to move from 14 to 2? I know in 2024 the name Gary Harris doesn't really move the needle, but in the 2017-18 season he gave you 17.5 on 48/39% splits with 2.3 3PM and legit perimeter defense at age 23, so he was a bit of a different type of asset compared to what we've seen since he's been with the Magic. The picks may feel a little light in hindsight, but you can't blame a team for not trading like 4 1st round picks for an unproven rookie, so I can't sit here and tell you the Nuggets offer was terrible. I imagine they were keeping Jamal Murray off the table, and outside of him and Jokic, Harris was their next best young player.
In the end, the Nuggets took MPJ at 14, and eventually down the line he helped them win a title, so it's all good. The only real loser in this situation is the Kings, but we knew that already.
But you can't lie, imagine a world where Luka and Jokic get to play together? You pair this guy
with this guy
and I don't even really care what else is around them. Sure Luka is having a bit of a down year coming off a disaster Finals, but don't let the details get in the way of a good NBA What If. The passing alone between the two would make this pairing must-watch stuff.
It's also fun to think about the butterfly effect something like this would have. Do the Nuggets eventually flip Jamal Murray? If they don't have Gary Harris to trade to ORL, how the hell do they bring in Aaron Gordon, a player who was also instrumental to their title? MPJ is obviously not a Nugget. If the Kings trade #2 to DEN, then what happens with the Mavs and Trae Young? Is Marvin Bagley's entire career different because he didn't have the curse of the Kings to deal with? This is why these types of stories are so fun to think about because the ripple effects could change the entire dynamic of the NBA as we know it.
Sadly, the Kings didn't bite and we'll never truly know what a Luka/Doncic pairing could have looked like or achieved together. Oh well. That doesn't mean it's not fun to think about though, so ultimately I'll give this NBA "What" If a 9.2/10 score. That would have been fun.